Apparently We're Not In Kansas Anymore
by SilentWhisper01
Summary: What happens when the spirit king leaves the fate of a universe up to two klutzy girls who can barely survive day to day life much less fight to save a very important life? Somebody has obviously got a sick sense of humor. Chaos ensues.
1. Objective 1: Don't Get Eaten

**_Author's Note: It's been so long since I've posted anything! T_T I miss not having a life...*sniffles* Well I'm back now along with a friend of mine who is co-writing this story with me. Well read and enjoy!_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own BLEACH. Hurray!...not_**

**Chapter 1: Objective #1: Don't get Eaten**

"AHH MUTANT MOTH!" A young blonde girl screeched as she darted across the bridge. Her companion, a tall girl dressed in dark denim, raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Dare I even inquire as to what the hell that was?" The girl called as she stepped off the bridge onto the soft earth next to her friend. Looking down towards her she saw the girl scrunch up her face in thought before answering.

"I'm serious! It was huge! I sorta wanna catch it . . ." The taller girl shook her head as her friend once again darted off in hot pursuit of the moth. Shaking her head the girl began jogging to keep pace with her friend, following deeper into the woods. Pushing her legs to a faster speed the girl felt worry begin to run through her when suddenly she caught sight of the young woman.

"Kiri!" The denim-clad girl growled as she followed her friend, her large pack of camping gear hitting her back painfully as she made her way down the trail. After a few minutes of pursuit she finally found her crouched down on the side of path examining a large moth in her hand.

"Arrow! It's pretty!" Kiri grinned insanely, turning her hand about so Arrow could get a view of the creature. It was large almost the size of Kiri's palm, black in color with specks of blue running across its wings.

"Yeah, gorgeous." Arrow replied airily, sarcasm coating her voice thickly. Her arms were crossed across her chest and an arched eyebrow was lifted as she watch the blonde girl stick out her tongue in response.

"You're no fun." Smiling happily Kiri flicked the moth off her hand before rising into a standing position. She adjusted her blonde ponytail as the dark-haired girl rolled her eyes.

"I wonder about you sometimes." Arrow mumbled before turning on her heel and making her way back onto the trail. Shaking her head she began the ascent up the steep incline. Kiri remained in the same place taking in her surroundings enjoying the nature around her. Lost in thought she jumped when Arrow's sharp voice cut in her thought process.

"Hurry up!" The girl barked glancing over her shoulder, "We need to hurry if we want to make it to the falls before sun down."

"Before sundown! What the hell? We should be there well before that!" The blonde screeched as she rocked on her toes and pointed an accusing finger at the girl paused on the trail.

"Well we would be if you would stop getting side tracked by moths." With that Arrow pulled herself over a fallen log and began pushing her way through the overgrowth.

The blonde grumbled in response before adjusting her pack and taking off towards her tall friend. Sprinting for a time she finally caught up to her friend, slightly out of breath. She wasn't renowned for her athletic ability; rather she saw it as one of her shortcomings.

She took note of her friend's long legs and was immediately reminded that wasn't her only 'short' coming. For each one of her strides Arrow had taken two. She scrunched up her face in annoyance, damn being vertically challenged.

Smiling to herself the blonde sighed in content as she followed up the trail. This was the ideal graduation gift she thought happily.

Stepping over a rock, she considered with happiness, really, there was nothing better than a week-long camping trip with friends. Namely a friend that didn't whine if the natural elements decided to drench them, if their tent fell over, or if she may have forgotten to pack enough rations to last her for a week and had to bum food off said friend to prevent starvation. She grinned and caught up to Arrow, a mischievous thought playing at the back of her mind. With skills she would have considered comparable to a ninjas she poked her friend in the back and snickered as her friend squeaked indignantly.

"STOP THAT!" She screeched in annoyance, startling several birds out of a nearby bush and almost obscuring a distant howling, screaming roar.

The black haired girl glared at her short friend contemplating kicking the girl off the trail into the underbrush. Opening her mouth to respond she was interrupted by the distant sound of a deep screaming roar.

"Did you hear that?" Arrow questioned the hair on the back of her neck begin to prickle up. Her eyes scanning the edges of the forest, she caught no signs of predators but her guard immediately rose. Subconsciously her fingers feeling for the gun stored in the side of her belt.

Kiri, having her heard nothing took more interest in the gun sitting in the holster on her friend's belt. Giving Arrow a "What the fuck" look as she calmly questioned. "Since when do you have a gun . . .?"

Arrow gave her an incredulous look. "I always carry one when hiking or camping . . . where the hell have you been?"

"You never told me that!" Kiri promptly retorted, her arms reflexively crossing over her chest. She had known Arrow for years, and had gone camping with her on several occasions but had never took note of her friend being in possession of a gun. Combustible materials? Absolutely, but never a gun.

"Huh. I thought I showed it to you." Shrugging her shoulders Arrow turned from her friend back towards the woods which had grown deathly silently almost instantly.

Sighing in slight exasperation the blonde followed her friends gaze towards line of the forest.

"I didn't hear anything. Honestly I think you're being paranoid..." Kiri supplied her eyes squinting trying to make out shapes through the trees.

Arrow shook her head before pulling the gun free from its holster and making her way to the edge of the beaten trail.

"Well only one way to find out."

Kiri raised an eyebrow, of course Arrow wanted to go hunt the imaginary noise. Muttering Kiri stated, "You know this is almost as bad as the invisible cockroach."

Arrow, completely ignoring Kiri, stepped up onto the bank and began making her way through the dense underbrush. Her pistol was drawn and her keen eyes searched for any signs of movement, none came.

Stopping momentarily she heard Kiri approaching and watched as her friend opened her mouth to speak when the howl became louder and much more prominent. The sound was unlike anything she had ever heard before, and growing up quite literary in the middle of the woods made her quite familiar with the cries of the bob cats and howls of the coyotes. This was completely different.

Arrow felt a shiver run up her spine as she looked to Kiri who had frozen her eyes wide.

She smirked slightly, more out of habit than need, "Nothing out there, huh?" She prodded a sense of cockiness overcoming her.

"Shut up and turn around." Kiri stated very slowly her mouth barely moving as her eyes were locked on something over Arrow's shoulder.

Since Kiri sounded unusually serious (A very rare thing for her), Arrow did as she was told and pivoted on her toe. Taking in the sight before her she raised an eyebrow at the masked creature contemplating them.

"Is that a . . ." She began questioning quickly taking in the appearance of the creature before her. It was a few inches shorter than herself and had wide set shoulders. Its body, almost humanoid, was sickly green in color. Its arms hung low and were tipped with razor sharp claws at the end. However what strut her most was the authenticity of the mask.

"I think it is." Kiri said almost breathlessly her eyes never leaving the creature before her.

Arrow sighed. "Fucking cosplayers all the way out here . . ." she shook her head in disappointment. Turning slightly she address the 'monster' directly. "Hah, good one. Did you record the roar? I found it very impressive; now take off the mask so I don't have to fill you full of holes."

The creature turned it's heard slightly analyzing the girls its mask face sticking out prominently in the evening light.

Growing annoyed at the imitated 'hollow' Arrow stepped forward her gun hanging loosely in her hands, "Hey jackass I'm talking to you."

Kiri poked Arrow timidly. "Uhhhh Arrow . . . I don't think that's a cosplayer . . ."

The taller girl looked at the creature more closely. It certainly did seem very authentic. She turned back to her friend and in a very calm voice stated "We are hiking in the middle of the woods, nowhere near Japan, how does that work?" Her eyes stayed locked on the creature as it began to emit a low growling sound. The Hollow, in turn, continued to contemplate the two increasingly tasty-looking humans before him.

Ever the nerd, Kiri raised a finger. "Actually, if you go with Bleach lore Hollows and Shinigami shouldn't be unique to Japan. So theoretically they would be here too . . ."

The Hollow had made up his mind. He wanted lunch.

Arrow muttered back, her position suddenly becoming tense, "But Kiri, we're not in Bleach!"

The Hollow lunged.

With no time for a retort Arrow grabbed Kiri and dove towards the left dragging the girl down with her. The hollow, having missed its lunch cried in outrage sending Arrows senses into overdrive and adrenaline coursing rapidly through her veins.

"Stay!" Arrow barked her black braid swinging as she jumped up from her friend turned to face the hollow. Pulling her gun free she pointed at the mask of the creature and with no hesitation shot off several rounds, each easily richocheting off of its marrow mask.

"Well shit." She muttered as the creature lunged at her again throwing herself backward she narrowly missed its long claws. Landing solidly on her ass Arrow's gun was thrown several feet away from her as she quickly tried to regain control over her legs. Slipping into a kneeling position she swung her leg out in attempts at tripping the furious creature. Her leg clashed with its knees and it was sent tumbling with an antagonizing roar.

Trying to regain her footing she felt the creature grip her ankle its deep claws sinking deeply into the skin. She yelped in agony but still fought to get away from the creature. Her thoughts focused primarily on how the hell something that was supposed to fictional had ended up in the real world.

"DAMN!" Arrow yelled in frustration as her balance failed her and she tumbled forward the hollow quickly closing the distance between them.

"KIRI!" Arrow yelled, sounding more pissed than scared, "Get my gun!" Arrow sent out a sharp kick at the hollows head.

Kiri still grounded in pure shock began scrambling towards the gun fear driving her towards the firearm. Crawling for what seemed like an eternity her hands came about the smooth handle of the gun.

"Got it!" Pointing the gun she shot off a round and completely missed.

"KIRI! You can't fire a gun!" Arrow screeched in disbelief as she sent a solid punch towards the hollows mask.

Kiri in her panic glared her friend "I'm not an idiot! I've shot a BB gun before at Styrofoam cups when I was ten..."

Even in pain the taller girl felt a line of sweat trail down her neck as she fought furiously, we're so doomed she thought.

Pulling the gun up once more Kiri tried to calm her frazzled nerves and to carefully aim the gun at the screaming hollow as it attempted to dig its claws into her friend.

One clean shot, she thought pulling the trigger slightly, one clean shot, and please dear flying spaghetti monster in the sky don't let me hit Arrow. Pulling the trigger back the gun jumped and sent a bullet flying into the soft back of the hollow. Letting out a pained scream it let Arrow loose and reeled back momentarily to assess its wounds.

"Damn It," Kiri muttered. "Supposed to hit it in the mask . . . . Arrow! Are you ok?" She turned to her injured friend. Her hands held out around her unsure of what to do.

Through gritted teeth Arrow growled, "I'll live! Just shut up and focus on THAT THING!"

Kiri turned just in time to see the Hollow had recovered and was now determined that these two pesky creatures would be eaten. Straitening her back Kiri pulled the gun into position and clicked the trigger, nothing happened.

"DAMN!" Arrow hissed as she dug through her pockets, "I don't know where my other clip is!"

Kiri, one who had never believed in heroic mannerisms almost contemplated throwing the gun at the hollow and high tailing in the opposite direction. Her thoughts of fear and selfishness however were drowned out when she heard Arrow struggling to pull herself into an upright position.

Stealing herself Kiri searched around her, her pulse resonating in her ears drowning out all noise except for the deep growl of the coiled hollow.

Catching sight of something she let out a small ah hah and jumped over Arrow leaving the injured girl lying on the ground and watching the hollow prepare to pounce.

"Kiri?" Arrow called, watching the hollow trail back and forth towards her, "Oh Kiri. KIRI!" Pushing herself onto her elbows she tried to steal a glance behind her but heard the hollow pounce.

Preparing herself for the pain she closed her eyes expecting death to come soon but felt nothing.

Daring to open an eye Arrow couldn't believe what she saw. There laying on the ground less than two feet from her was the hollow with what appeared to be a pair of scissors stuck through its throat. Kiri stood to the side shaking profusely as she watched the collapsed hollow for movement.

There was a moment of silence during which both girls stared at the monster. Finally Arrow looked at Kiri. ". . . Where in the HELL did you get scissors?"

Kiri, shaking slightly, looked as though she wasn't sure what exactly had just happened. "Uhm . . . I usually tend to have scissors with me . . . for art, you know. Uh . . . we should try and get you out of here. Can you stand?"

The dark-haired girl pulled herself up, wincing. "I'm really glad you're short, you're the perfect height for me to lean on…"

Kiri glared at her, her normal persona beginning to return, "Glad to be of assistance." Pulling her friend up, Arrow focused her weight on her and the two quickly hobbled off back down the trail. Neither entirely sure what happened they remained silent trying to soak in what had just happened.

As they made the painful jump down from the bank Kiri couldn't help feel something wasn't sitting right with her. She was sure she had missed something, something important. When she heard a low and rather furious growl behind them, everything clicked.

"Arrow . . ." She said slightly panicking as she looked at her sweat drenched friend, "aren't Hollows' bodies supposed to disappear if they're dead?"

There was a pregnant pause as both girls looked at one another.

"SHIT!"

Turning both girls eyes widened as the hollow descended on them.

**_Author's Note: Muahahaha! Cliffy...er well sorta, anywho review!  
><em>**


	2. Objective 2:Koi Fish?

**_Author's Note: Thank you to our one reviewer! _**

Arrow woke with a throbbing headache, groaning she threw an arm over her eyes, the world around her a blur. Enjoying the feel of the cool floor against her throbbing head she tried to sort out her thoughts when it all came back to her.

Sitting up quickly she gasp when pain ran through her body and she collapsed back against the ground her hand reaching uselessly to the screaming pain in her ankle. Attempting to open one eye at a time she was met with an unusual sight, a sight that lead to her to the solid conclusion of, I'm dead.

Above her was an entire star system appearing as though it was within reach. Throughout the system were snippets of people's lives and voices resounding loudly making it sound as though it were a loud buzzing. Watching it in disbelief she lay there for a time willing the throbbing in her head to subside.

Kiri, she thought, where the hell are you? Sitting up, much slower this time, she looked around her in a slight panic. She was what appeared to be a long marble corridor, the architecture of the columns astounding mimicking even the greatness of the halls in Greece. Above her the buzzing of the thousand voices had faded away leaving the corridor in an eerie silence. Putting her hands on the marble floor she began to push herself into a standing position her mind wandering over the millions of possibilities of what had just happened.

As she stood she prepared to favor her injured ankle but was shocked when she placed weight on it to see it was fine. Rotating it experimentally she found that it wasn't even stiff, but felt as though nothing had happened.

Out of curiosity she looked at her hands and was surprised to see they were also free of injury, the scrapes she had obtained completely gone. Maybe she truly had lost her mind and was stuck inside her own head. Shaking her head of such thoughts she began making her way down the immense corridor looking for her lost friend.

Everything around her was overwhelming and she was seeing things she had thought only possible in fantasy, items from every era, every fictional tale littered the walls as though they were knick knacks. Things from the swords of Viking war lords, to what appeared to be guns of every shape, size and variation.

Looking back and forth she also took note of hundreds of doorways each door a different color and design than the last separated only by a few inch differences. She could only imagine what lay beyond the large doorways as she made her way further down the hallway. It was strange she thought, as there was no obvious light source as though the hall was illuminated by itself with no external light source. It was like a scene strait out of the movies where the main character had got sucked into purgatory and it left Arrow questioning her own sanity.

As she continued to ponder exactly where she was, and questioning her own religious beliefs she heard a child's laughter cut through her thought process. Turning around to face the creator of the mysterious sound she was met with the appearance of a moth, one that looked oddly familiar.

"You've to be kidding..." she mumbled as she realized it was the same one that she had watched Kiri chase through the woods, its black wings oddly shimmery in the bright light of the hallway. The moth chimed another small laugh leaving Arrow in state of shock as it disappeared into thin air.

"W-wait!" She yelped , her booted feet making a constant thumping as she thundered down the corridor. Running rapidly she realized that the corridor was seemingly endless and she felt her stomach sink at the thought. Falling purely into instinct mode she pushed herself forward and ran mindlessly hoping that she would come upon something that would at least give her a general clue.

Her foot however caught on something in her sprint however and sent her tumbling. She flew several feet before landing painfully and rolling to an antagonizing stop. She found herself severely dizzy after her tumble and had to shake her head to clear the spinning from her vision. Pushing herself up she looked to see what she had tripped over and was met with the sight of an unconscious Kiri.

"Kiri…" Arrow whispered as she pushed herself up and ran towards her companion. Turning the girl from her side she shook her rapidly, willing her to gain consciousness. After a few moments she was met with an irritated groan and a pair of dazed blue eyes.

"Just five more minutes," the blonde girl complained swatting at Arrow and turning back over to resume her position of sleep. At this Arrow had to restrain a pained laugh, count on Kiri to want to nap in the middle of a slight crisis.

"Kiri this is serious," Arrow hissed shaking the girl again, this time far more forcefully "Do you remember what happened?" A few moments passed before the blonde girl stiffened and her eyes flew wide open. Turning over she met her friends gaze with one of panic.

"That was real?" She squeaked disbelievingly, her hands flying about her in undefined patterns. Arrow could only nod her head in conformation as she watched the blonde sit up. Kiri let out a low whistle as she thought back on the events of the evening.

"Wait if we're here," Kiri started, "Does that mean the hollow came with us?" At that Arrow bristled and began looking around for signs of the beast. None came, however it did not relieve the tension in the girl's shoulders.

"I don't know." Arrow admitted as she sunk back onto her knees, pulling her leather jacket around her tightly, the temperature was oddly cold in the corridor.

"Speaking of here, where are we?" Kiri continued on as her eyes searched around her. They were met with the same scene that Arrow had woken to mere minutes prior. "Are we dead?"

"No, not quite." A deep voice resounded startling both girls as they looked frantically about, "You however are no longer in your world." The girls looked at each as though they had each grown an extra head. Not sure what to do both girls could only stare at one another when the world around them began to shake slightly. Suddenly the walls around them began to rush by at rapid speeds causing both girls to reach out and grab one another out of instinct.

As soon as the motion had started however it had stopped leaving both girls sitting by what appeared to be a Koi pond.

"There is no need to fear girls," they heard the voice come from the pond and looked at it in disbelief. "Come closer to me so I may see the two that I have selected for such a grand task." Being unable to do more than respond accordingly both girls stood and walked closer to the koi pond.

The pond itself was far from impressive as it could have not had a radius greater than three feet. However the shimmer of the water and the smoothness of the stone stood out immensely. The atmosphere around them had changed also into one of pure marble walls and a void of black above serving as a ceiling.

Inside the pond only swam two fish, both rotating about each other in perfect synchronization. One was pure white and color with a circle of black upon its head, while the other was inverse with black and a white circle on its head. Looking down both watched the fish in awe and were only slightly startled when the voice echoed around them again.  
>"Arilyn Wolfe, Kierra Griffith, you were brought here upon my will," The voice grew louder as the pond began to glow a silvery color, "I have a task for you that is dire in importance."<br>Arrow, although she had already raised an eyebrow at the fish, whacked her friend. "Shut up and listen to them." Facing the pond, she glared at the koi and asked the most obvious question she could think of. "Alright, who, or what are you?"

"I am many things," it drawled, almost in a dramatic fashion, though I am best known as the Spirit King." The two girls did the only logical thing they could think of. They deadpanned.

"The Spirit King . . . as in Bleach?" Realizing that the fish probably wouldn't know what she was talking about, Arrow rephrased. "As in, the ethereal ruler of Seireitei that no one has ever seen and is only mentioned occasionally and who Aizen tried to murder?"

"Yes." The Koi's responded, "I am He who governs all of Soul Society." A pregnant silence followed the announcement as both girls let the information soak in.

At this point Kiri finally lost it. "ARROW!" She giggled helplessly, "The Spirit King is a pair of fish!" Kiri had placed her hands over her mouth as she let out bouts of helpless giggles and had tears streaming down her face.

Arrow herself had to suppress a smirk and she shoved Kiri, trying valiantly not to break face.

"Then why are we here?" Arrow questioned trying to sound as serious as possible, as she watched the fish continue to swim in their continuous circle, "We aren't even a part of your world, or universe for that matter." At this the fish chuckled, yes chuckled.

"But you are," It explained as if though it were speaking to an unknowing infant, "I am interconnected into your world just as much as you are interconnected to mine." At this both girls felt their faces go flat, what the hell did he mean by that.

"Sooo basically we're the 'chosen ones," Kiri stated as she watched the fish, contemplation trying to catch one just to see if she could, "so to speak." At this the Spirit King rumbled out a deep yes.

Kiri burst into laughter once more and fell to her knees, "Oh gods this is priceless," She grabbed her sides as she giggle senselessly, "Do you hear this Arrow? Hahahaha We've officially went off the deep end!"

Arrow shoved her friend again, although she was inclined to agree with her. "Of course, Chosen ones," Arrow drawled trying to make sense of the events that had just unfolded before her eyes, "I'm just going to skip the 'why us' for the time being and go straight to the 'what do you want.'"

"As I am sure you have realized by now, the Hollow you met in the woods would have killed you had I not intervened. In return, I wish you to do me a favor. The fate of both your universes rests on it."

Kiri groaned. "Greaaaaattt . . . Just what we need." She turned her face to look elsewhere when a thought hit her, "wait wouldn't that mean you're the one who sent the hollow after us in the first place?" Without missing a beat the spirit king ignored the accusations of the fuming blonde and continued on.

"The death of a certain person unbalanced the rhythm of the universes. This person was never meant to die. You are to save him, by any means necessary."

The blond squealed slightly. "ULQUIORRA! I KNEW HE NEEDED TO LIVE! WHAT DO I DO?" jumping up and down Kiri had a look of vengeance on her face that would have been terrifying had it not been, well Kiri.

If the fishes could have sweat dropped they would have. As Kiri continued to babble on mindlessly Arrow opted to actually listen to the so called 'soul king'.

"No Ulquiorra's fate was played in a correct pattern, however," The room around them suddenly began to shift as an image of an all too familiar face came to their eyes, "Ichimaru Gin was never meant to die. Yet due to the elimination of his presence a rip of destruction has been weaved into the fabrics of time. The fates need to be rewritten and only you two are capable of such feats." Arrow felt a line of sweat trail down her neck.

"But why us?" She questioned suddenly, her voice echoing off the marble walls. This situation was becoming harder and harder to comprehend as the seconds passed and she was beginning to wish that she at least the slightest clue as to why the hell this was happening to them of all people.

"It will all be explained in time," the koi fish provided leaving Arrow with a deep set feeling of frustration. Feeling her temper peak she was about to share her thoughts when suddenly a deep moan came from the room around them. Both girls froze as they felt the first tremor sift through the marble floor. "Time is short," The spirit king rushed out, "I will be watching over you in your journey, farewell." And with that the tremors became immense sending both girls into heaps on the floor.

Suddenly the tremors stopped however and the girls found themselves faced with a new problem as a hole had ripped open beneath them leaving them to the whims of gravity.  
>It just keeps getting better, Arrow thought sadistically as she went tumbling into the abyss below, so much better.<p>

**_Author's Note: So both myself and my co-author have written quite a ways beyond this so expect updates regularly...errr atleast for awhile R&R_**


	3. Objective 3: Climb the White Wall!

_**Author's Note: In case anyone was wondering both girls are 18. **__**Just figured I'd would clear that up. This story has been a blast to write and has proven to be more entertainment that I thought possible. I hope you guys get as much of a kick out of it as I do. Enjoy!**_

"Owww . . ." Kiri muttered as she disentangled herself from Arrow. Sitting up, she glanced around. "You're kidding me." She glanced down at her friend and poked her. "Oi, Arrow, get up."

Grumbling in annoyance Arrow straightened her grounded appearance before letting her jaw drop slightly. "That son of a koi fish…" Pushing herself onto her toes she took in the rugged appearance of the Rukongai.

Kiri giggled. "Actually Arrow, he's not the SON of a koi fish. He IS a koi fish. Well, two of them, actually but . . ." She grinned as Arrow glared at her. "Anyway, have you noticed where we are?" Kiri squealed and fan girled slightly.

Arrow face palmed. _What an idiot,_ she thought as she glanced around her. Rukongai was worse than one could have imagined and she wondered vaguely which district they were in. Clearly not one of the more well-off ones. Trash was piled everywhere and most of the buildings were in desperate need of several cans of paint and probably an exterminator as well. Fortunately no one seemed to have noticed that two girls had just dropped out of the sky into the middle of their town.

"Let's go," Arrow muttered, pulling her friend up as she watched people mill about in the streets "We need to go before someone notices us." Kiri followed quickly her eyes widening as she noticed how dirty and thin the people were. Glancing down at herself, her eyes widened slightly. She elbowed her friend. "Dude, Arrow, have you seen what we're wearing?"

Arrow looked at herself as well. "Wow . . ." She pulled at the front of her Shinigami uniform experimentally. Her uniform had the traditional style of Shinigami pants however her top was different as it came up as a turtle neck halter with no sleeves and an open back and long black gloves adorned her arms. Glancing at Kiri she had to restrain a snicker.

Kiri's uniform was truly traditional however it was exponentially longer than her legs. Kiri glared at her and hiked up her pants. "I've got to find a way to shorten these . . ." She remembered the now-hollow-blood-covered scissors she had in her backpack. She wondered where her gear had gone, and glancing at the ground where they landed, she pulled at Arrow.

"Ah hah! Our stuff is still here." She dug through her pack and pulled out the scissors, only to find that some chemical in the monster's blood had melted the metal. "Lovely."

"It could be worse," the dark-haired girl supplied, shrugging as she gathered her things "That could have been your face." Throwing her pack over her back she turned towards the street and felt a strange surge of power course through her. Startled she looked at her hands, what was that?

Kiri seemed to be experiencing the same thing. She winced and closed her eyes. The feeling of power, and of an _entity_ seemed to be getting stronger. Opening them, she looked down and noticed a sword lying next to her that had definitely not been there a minute ago.

"ARROW!" she squealed, picking up her newborn zanpakutou and examining it, enjoying how right the blade felt in her hand. "THIS IS SO COOL!"

Looking down, Arrow also caught sight of a scabbard. Bending down she swiftly picked it up and examined it. Testing its weight she quickly pulled at the handle of the sword to find that it was not one sword but two blades interlocked.

"Huh," she said as she quickly pulled the blades apart and swung them experimentally, "Talk about quality blades." Taking a quick step she drove the sword forward and gasped when she felt the power surging through her increase.

"Amazing." She cooed almost breathlessly her eyes focused on the intricate Celtic designs on her swords' hilts.

"Kiri," she said turning towards her friend and froze at what she saw.

Arrow's jaw dropped as she saw her friends' zanpakutou's first use. Kiri was seated on the ground, happily using the blade to cut away the extra material at the bottom of pants. Arrow could almost see the sword spirit sweat dropping.

Kiri looked at her. "What? My scissors are melted. I'll apologize later when I can talk to her." The blonde paused, surprised at her own words. "Her? Huh . . . I guess I just kind of know that . . ."

Arrow sighed in disbelief as she quickly clipped her scabbard to her waist. Lifting up her pack she turned back towards the road and looked up taking in an old and splintered sign.

"Hanging Dog . . ." she murmured, her eyes widening slightly, "This is where Rukia and Renji grew up. We're in the 79th Rukongai district."

Kiri whistled in disbelief as she scrambled back onto her feet, her pants now falling just below her ankle. "Wow, we're in the Rukongai deep." The blond glanced towards the side and felt a line of sweat slip down her face, "Psst, Arrow, we're being watched."

Arrow looked up and realized the inhabitants had finally noticed they were there. "Yeah . . . we should get moving." The two girls attempted to nonchalantly get up and, nodding at the increasingly menacing-looking villagers, dashed off into the woods.

Three hours later, Kiri was about ready to punch her friend. She was tired, hungry, hot, scratched, and bitten all over by what seemed to be mosquitoes, only about five times larger. They had long since given up on running, both of them far too tired, and were now plodding along through what seemed to be endless forest.

"Arrow, you said we should be at Seireitei like two hours ago. If we're getting closer to it, shouldn't there be FEWER trees and MORE buildings, instead of the other way around? Listen to me: YOU. ARE. GOING. THE. WRONG. WAY."

Arrow snorted in response, "Quit your damn whining." Pushing her thick hair back from her eyes she turned to look at her companion. "We probably just took a wrong turn at the stump back there..."She trailed off as she glanced around her. Kiri attempted to suppress an eye roll, she was however unsuccessful.

"Uh, hey Kiri," Arrow said, suddenly sounding very sheepish. Kiri, having leaned against a tree to catch her breath, looked up at Arrow with disdain.

"What?" She growled in annoyance as she followed Arrow's line of sight. She paused as she saw what her friend was looking at.

"Didn't we leave that marker there like an hour ago?" Kiri questioned sounding oddly calm as she took in the sight of the blue ribbon securely tied around the branch of a dying tree.

"Yep," Arrow said soundly oddly amused a faint smirk caressing her lips. Kiri felt a line of sweat trace down her face as her fist clenched suddenly around her sword.

"YOU'VE LEAD US IN A DAMN CIRCLE!" the blonde screeched suddenly jumping from the tree and tackling her friend. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"

Arrow scrambled away, smiling awkwardly as her friend practically growled at her. "Heh…..Oops? HEYY!" Kiri jumped at her again and beat her over the head with her sheathed zanpakutou a few times, then straightened.

"THAT'S IT!" She shouted, panting. "From now on, _I_ lead!"

Arrow said nothing, not wanting to be beaten over the head again. Kiri glared at her for another moment, then said a bit more calmly, "I am going to climb a tree and see if I can tell where we are. You DO NOT MOVE. If I fall, YOU CATCH ME, GOT IT?"

Not waiting for an answer, the blond picked a likely-looking tree and made her way to the top. Arrow watched her disappear into the foliage. There were a few moments of silence, then another shout.

"ARROW YOU DUMBASS WE'VE BEEN GOING THE WRONG WAY THE WHOLE TIME!"

The taller girl ducked and ran as she was pelted with acorns.

"Geez! I don't know why you're freaking out," Arrow shouted towards her fuming blonde friend as she descended the tree. "You're being a bit over the top don't you think." At that Kiri quickly swiped a fallen acorn from the ground and pegged Arrow in between the eyes with it.

"I can't believe I let you lead," Kiri said as she made her way past Arrow, "I mean you ARE the girl who got lost in the local supermarket and couldn't find her way to the EXIT." Kiri froze and suddenly felt like hitting herself, why the hell had she let Arrow lead in the first place?

"Come on, let's go." Arrow nodded as she quickly fell into step with her blonde friend.

"Hey Kiri," Arrow said her voice suddenly becoming serious, "How are we going to do this?" Kiri lifted a quizzical eyebrow at her friend.

"Do what?"

"Stop Gin's death," Arrow's green eyes hardened, "We have no idea how to even summon our zanpakutous much less what time period we've fallen into." At this Kiri shook her head.

"I'm not sure," she straightened her shoulders, "but we've got to try something, I mean the future of this world has been virtually placed on our shoulders."

Arrow smirked humorlessly, "Yeah, the spirit king definitely picked the wrong duo for the job, guess we're going to have to play this by ear neh?"

Kiri glared at her friend, still rather ticked off. "Well I'm certainly not going to play it by YOUR ear, we already tried that and look where it got us? TEN FREAKING MILES AWAY FROM WHERE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE." The shorter girl sighed. "Anyway, the best thing to do is probably just to get into Seireitei. From there we can find out where we are in the storyline and what's the best thing to do."

Arrow caught up to her friend. "But how exactly are we going to get IN to Seireitei? As fun as getting shot out of a gigantic cannon sounds, I'm not really thrilled with that option. Unless you can think of anything else?"

"For now let's just get to the wall. We can work it out from there."

Approximately two hours later . . .

Arrow stopped short as she found herself face to face with an enormous wall. Her eyes trailed over its massive form and she let a slow whistle escape between her lips.

"Looks like we're not climbing over it," she supplied easily as Kiri came within earshot. The blonde having just caught up fell on her ass, thoroughly out of breath.

"Why. . . were . . . you . . . running . . . so . . . fast?" Kiri managed to pant out as she also took sight of the wall her mouth twisting in a disgruntled fashion.

"You said we needed to hurry," Arrow chirped innocently as she watched Kiri on the ground. Turning back towards the wall she felt the spiritual pressure off of it pressing against her own reiatsu. Experimentally she pushed against the force and felt it push back. It was going to take some serious time to get used to that.

"So oh masterful guide," Arrow drawled, "any ideas as to how the hell we're going to get in there." Kiri shot her friend a dark look as she thought over her options. Attacking the wall was out of the question and there was no way in hell she was willingly going to fight one of the gate guardians.

As she was lost in thought she found herself staring at her friends profile when it suddenly hit her.

"Actually I do," Kiri said with an evil smirk growing on her face. Arrow looked at her skeptically.

"Dare I even inquire?" She asked, suddenly becoming uncomfortable with her friend staring at her in such a way.

Kiri smirked as she placed her hand on her tall friend's shoulder, "Remember when we thought about cosplaying as Bleach in high school?" Arrow's eyes widened exponentially.

"Absolutely not!" She yelled as she began to back away from her friend, her hands coming up in front of her protectively.

"Now, come on Ise fukutaicho! Let's go look for supplies." Kiri grinned as she closed the distance between her and her friend.

The two rummaged through one of the abandoned huts near the wall, Arrow rather reluctantly. Why, WHY had she ever mentioned to her friend that she looked like Ise Nanao when she wore her glasses? She felt an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach that told her this wasn't going to work. Kiri on the other hand was cheerfully muttering to herself as she dug through the shelves.

"Let's see . . . we already have the Shinigami uniform and glasses," Kiri murmured as she stood on her toes to get eye level with the middle shelf, "but we're going to need a hair clip and something to use as a lieutenant's badge . . . What's this?"

The shorter girl pulled an odd-looking necklace of sorts from the pile. The pendant on it was rather large and diamond shaped, with what appeared to be a small mirror in the middle, but when Kiri looked into it, it reflected nothing.

"Weird . . ." she muttered. "Hey Arrow, come look at this." The black haired girl peered at it for a moment, then shrugged clearly unimpressed with the old piece of jewelry.

"It's an old necklace. Help me find something for a badge." Arrow continued as she bent down and began looking under old crates, "We've also got to find something

"Wait," Kiri said, looking on the shelf again. A small bit of paper lay under where the necklace had been. She picked it up and blew the dust from the wrinkled parchment. Carefully she read the poem scribbled on the page;

_Mask of many faces,_

_Faces of many souls,_

_Given gift without traces,_

_Only the possessor can't be fooled._

Arrow, who had come to read over her friend's shoulder, snorted. "A riddle? That's not cliché or anything..." Turning away Arrow went back to rummaging, the thoughts of her eye color, uniform difference, and reiatsu staying prominent in her mind as they were going to be dead give a ways she wasn't the lieutenant of squad 8.

Kiri stared at the little sheet of paper, her lips moving soundlessly as she repeated the riddle to herself. "This sounds like exactly what we need . . ." Turning, she hooked the chain over her head.

"Kiri? What are you doing?" Arrow asked skeptically as she watched the girl secure the necklace around her neck and run her fingers over it experimentally.

"Shush, I have an idea." Holding the pendant in her hand, she stared at the oddly blank mirror. Turning to study at her friend and holding every detail of her appearance in mind, she looked back down at the mirror, only to see Arrow staring back at her eyes wide.

"HOLY SHIT." Arrow said as she looked into her mirror image, the same arched brows and thick lips. There was no way this was even possible.

Kiri looked up at Arrow's statement and looked at her with a hint of confusion. Arrow was staring at her as though she'd never seen anything so strange. "What?"

"You . . . You're me!" Arrow hissed, stepping closer to the girl to examine her appearance.

"I am?" The blond looked down at herself disbelievingly. "What are you talking about? I don't look any different."

"Yes, you do." Arrow stated as she stepped back and laughed " Here. Your reiatsu even feels like my own…" The other girl thrust a dusty mirror at her. Skeptically looking into the mirror Kiri yelped suddenly when she was met with Arrow's eyes instead of her own.

"Huh I did feel a little taller now that I think about it…" So this is what it's like to have long legs she thought in annoyance, "I guess we don't need to look for supplies anymore . . ."

A few minutes later, Lieutenant Ise, or her exact double to the eyes of anyone but herself, stood facing the wall next to her short blond "subordinate." Staring down the expanse of stone, the two realized their second problem. They now had less of a chance of being spotted within Seireitei itself, but they still had no idea how Shinigami actually got IN.

Kiri stepped forward. "Uhh, hello? We're uh . . . returning from a mission! Can you let us in?" She looked up waiting patiently for the wall to budge. The wall remained determinedly there however.

Arrow laid her palm flat on it "Open Sesame!" She stated in strong voice, willing the piece of stone to move.

Kiri raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Really?" Arrow send her a dark look.

"Do you have a better idea?" She challenged, her arms crossed over her chest and eyes narrowed behind her glasses.

The shorter girl giggled at the thought that had just occurred to her. "Alohomora!"

There was a loud rumbling noise and a section of the wall ever so slowly began to rise.

Arrow stared at her friend in disbelief. "'Alohomora'? What the hell does that even mean?" Arrow watched as the wall came eye level with her and continued to rise, leaving the entrance to the Gotei 13 wide opening. There had to be a catch.

Kiri looked equally shocked that it had worked. "Uh . . . it's the opening spell from Harry Potter! I was just joking though . . ." Arrow sighed, could it get any weirder?

"Huh . . . odd," Arrow mumbled as she looked in past the open door. Something wasn't sitting right with her and she wasn't sure what it was.

"Whatever!" Kiri snorted as she walked forward, "We're in, haven't you ever heard not to look a gift horse in the mouth?" The blond made her way through the doorway.

"Besides it was probably just the spirit king helping our stupid asses." Arrow followed but remained quiet, her thoughts focused elsewhere.

"So, where to?" Kiri asked after they had walked for awhile. "I mean, if we find some captains or something we can figure out the approximate-" A loud rumbling echoed throughout the corridor.

"The hell..." Arrow mumbled as she looked around her before looking up. She caught sight of a blaring orange ball flying towards them.

"Well looks like luck is on our side," she said smirking, the light of the incoming object reflecting off her glasses, as she watched the cannonball collide with the barrier, "At least we have a start now."

_**Author's Note:  
>Cookie to anyone who reviews!<strong>_


	4. Objective 4: Find Le Hideout

_**Author's Note: SO I got beat with a wet squirrel….joy. Thank you to all of our reviewers! It makes writing so much more enjoyable when we get feedback. Do enjoy.**_

Kiri stared at the ball of light as alarms began to sound throughout the city. "Is that . . ."

"Yeah, I think so. See, look, it just split into four. That's Ichigo and Co. all right."

Completely forgetting they were out in the open and that Arrow currently looked like Nanao, Kiri did a little fangirl dance, managing to mostly restrain her squeal. "OH MY GOSH Arrow this is SOOO COOOLL . . ."

Arrow sighed in response to Kiri, count on her to be fangirling in the middle of a riot. Whacking her friend she heard Kiri hiss in response. "That's great Kiri, but don't you think we should be, I don't know, looking for a place to call base."

Kiri rubbed her head and stuck her tongue out at Arrow. "Yeah, you're right but where the hell do we even start." Arrow shrugged before moving off towards the corner of the corridor to be trampled by several dozen shinigami rushing down the corridor.

"OH MY GOD LIEUTENANT ISE!" Arrow heard one of the shinigami yell as she lay sprawled out on the ground, "Are you alright miss? Do I need to call in Squad 4?"

As the young shinigami carried on Arrow took little note of what he was saying and was more astonished that her little costume was actually working.

"There will be no need for that," She said, finally have regained control of her situation. adjusting her glasses as she rose to her feet, "Go, find the ryoka." She said simply and watched as the young shinigami saluted her before rushing off after his companions.

She stood stunned for a few moments before loud cackling behind her shook her from her stupor. Turning she glared at her friend.

"Oh god Arrow," Kiri said between snickers as she wiped tears from her eyes, "it actually worked!" She walked up and slapped her friend on the arm, giggles still escaping between her teeth.

"Can you imagine what will happen when Shunsui finds out his precious Nanao-chan got trampled?"

Arrow glared at Kiri. "Why do I get the feeling you're going to make SURE we run into that idiot?"

Kiri giggled and attempted to look innocent. "Now, now, Ise-fukutaicho, you shouldn't be talking about your captain that way!" Skipping off after the shinigami, Kiri shouted, "You know, you really do pull it off WAY too well!"

Arrow growled, then started after her friend. "See if you can find an abandoned building or something we can use as our base until we figure out what we're going to do. Don't pick something that stands out either Kiri…"Kiri, still happily skipping, disappeared around a corner from Arrow's sight. Sighing, the dark haired girl adjusted her glasses before groaning in frustration. Following closely behind, Arrow allowed her mind to wander over the past few days and how everything had went from so normal it was boring to well...this.

Turning a corner Arrow suddenly realized that they had entered the district of the eleventh division. Her eyes widening slightly she raced to catch up with Kiri who was happily chatting with another shinigami.

"Really, thanks a ton!" She heard Kiri say, her lips spread in a devious smile, "It's hard being a new recruit with no one to guide you around!"

"Of course no problem Miss Kiri," the young man replied, "though I would suggest since you are of Squad 8 you should make it back to your barracks before some of the rough squad eleven guys see a pretty young lady like yourself here."

Kiri's eye twitched, although she managed to hide it at the last second. Smiling cheerfully, she replied, "Aw! You're so sweet! Anyway, thanks for the help!" She then dashed back to Arrow as quickly as possible and muttered, "That guy was freakin' creepy. But he did tell us a good place to hide out, under pretext of where we should check for the ryoka. That also means we're in charge of searching that area, so no one should come looking."

Still looking rather creeped out, Kiri grabbed Arrow and pulled her off down a side street. A little while later, they found themselves standing outside a small and rather run-down old warehouse.

Pushing open the door, Arrow poked her head inside. "Well it's in major need of a vacuum cleaner and probably some Lysol, but it's not bad." Stepping inside, she set her bag down on an old crate and started poking through some of the boxes. "A pity our sleeping bags are still in my car in the real world . . ." A look of worry suddenly crossed her face. "KIRI! THEY'RE GONNA TOW MY CAR! MY PRECIOUS MUSTANG! We've got to figure this out quickly and get back, we can't leave my car there that long!"

Kiri shook her head "Well, there's nothing we can do about it now. We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out. Hopefully the passage of time is different between our world and this world."

Arrow didn't seem any more pleased or calmed. "So where to from here? Do we even have a plan as to what the hell we're doing?" she questioned as she sat on the floor and looked up towards Kiri. "I mean we can't just rush in there and tell them everything, they'd kill us on sight."

The blond pulled a small stack of dusty blankets off a shelf and sat across from Arrow. "Well, we know that we're at the beginning of the Soul Society arc. Aizen hasn't even faked his own death yet. We have at least a bit of time to figure things out. We certainly can't do anything right now, we have to wait for the storyline to progress farther. And I don't think we should interfere with Ichigo rescuing Rukia either. That has nothing to do with anything."

Arrow considered. As an avid Bleach fan, she didn't want to mess up the storyline TOO much, but they would obviously have to change SOMETHING if they were to fulfill the Spirit King's mission. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could a loud growl interrupted her. It took her a moment to realize the sound had in fact come from her stomach.

Kiri was staring at her in disbelief. "You're hungry."

Arrow smiled back awkwardly. "I suppose we can hunt around here for something edible?"

The blond sighed. "Really, Arrow, don't you know me better than that?" Pulling out her backpack, she rummaged around for a moment, then fished out two packs of instant ramen and a couple spoons. "Come on, you should know by now that I carry ramen with me EVERYWHERE. Do you have any water left?"

"Yes but it's still got ice in it," Arrow said as she pulled out a water flask and tossed it towards Kiri, "Screw the water I just want the ramen." Kiri tossed the pack towards Arrow who, immediately after catching it began to mix the seasoning with the raw noodles.

"I swear the way you eat you should be three hundred pounds," Kiri commented dryly as she watched her friend devour the ramen. Chewing happily Arrow shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Now where to find fire..." Kiri trailed off as she realized there was nothing flammable within sight. "Guess I'm eating it raw too." Quickly mixing her own ramen she looked up to see Arrow had finished hers and was sprawled across the floor, her hair having come down from its clip and her glasses thrown off towards the side.

"I'm bored." Kiri stated simply as she watched Arrow on the ground who pushed herself up and sent her a wicked glare.

"Really?" Arrow drawled her eyebrows arched up on her forehead, "We're in another damn dimension and you're BORED!" Arrow let her head drop suddenly and she fell back onto the floor.

"Count the ceiling tiles," she said from her grounded position, "'cause I'm sure as hell not entertaining you."

The blond whimpered at Arrow when an idea suddenly hit her. Grinning wickedly she began to dig rapidly through Arrow's bag.

"Hey! What the hell are you do-"

"Ah HAH!" Kiri shouted victoriously as she pulled out a sleek black device. "I knew you brought your iPod!"

Arrow sat up quickly, sensing danger. "Kiri . . ."

The shorter girl began cycling through songs on her friend's iPod. Seeing several that she like she pressed play to hear the result coming through the speakers.

"You like 'Hit that'?" Arrow asked, looking at Kiri oddly, "I always took you for a cutesy kinda music person." Kiri snorted as she laid the iPod down on the ground.

"You're an ass." She said simply as she stood up and began rustling through the shelves around her.

"You know this song always put me in mind of Urahara," Arrow said from the floor as she watched Kiri.

"What's wrong with you?" Kiri asked, looking slightly concerned at Arrow's comment.

"There's a lot wrong with me." Arrow sat up and looked at her iPod before picking it up and shuffling through her playlist titled 'randomness'.

"Hey Kiri," Arrow cooed suddenly "Remember when I got wasted and started dancing on table tops during our graduation party."

"Unfortunately yes I do why?" The music suddenly shifted and Kiri had to hold back a laugh. "You've got to be kidding me," she said as she watched Arrow stand up and dust off her pants.

"OH my god Becky," Arrow drawled in an obnoxious tone with the music, "look at her butt! It's so big! She looks like one of those rap guys girlfriends! Who understands those rap guys . . ."

"NO." Kiri growled as she watched Arrow jumping around like an idiot talking along with the song.

"It's just out there, I mean it's gross," Arrow walked up behind Kiri and smacked her in the ass with a blanket, "Look, she's just so black."

Kiri yelped in disbelief as Arrow ran past her and began dancing around like something out of an MC Hammer video.

"I like big butts and I cannot lie," Arrow sang loudly sending Kiri into a state of embarrassment, the memories of their graduation party coming back to her rather rapidly.

"Arrow would you quit!" Kiri hissed, noting that as loud as she was being someone was bound to hear.

"UH, rump of smooth skin" Arrow jumped up on the crate and danced around in a very inappropriate manner, "You say you wanna get in my benz, well use me use me cuz you aint that average groupy..."

Kiri grabbed a book from her bag and tried to peg Arrow with it, failing miserably as she could no longer restrain the giggles escaping through her mouth. At some point Arrow had swept her hair back up into a bun and her glasses were on making the scene that much funnier as it looked like the lieutenant of squad 8 dancing.

In all of the ruckus however neither girl had taken the care to note the large spiritual pressure coming their way.

Arrow, having jumped from her position on the crate was now bent towards Kiri singing obnoxiously and shaking her ass towards the entrance of the door. The door which opened a moment later.

Abarai Renji, lieutenant of squad six, was having a very bad day. Not only had he woken up late for the lieutenant's meeting, but they'd been interrupted halfway through by some weird-ass report about ryoka. Actually, now he thought about it, as he wandered around in the outskirts of Seiretei, looking for a piece of some glowing cannonball, he was having a very bad week. His best friend, Rukia, was on death row, and his captain seemed to be in an eternal bad mood. Renji glared at a random passing shinigami, who scurried away, wondering what he'd done wrong. Seriously, he thought, can this day get any weirder or more annoying? The red-haired pineapple paused. What were those noises coming from that old warehouse? He turned and walked up to it, pressing his ear against the door. Was that _music_? Renji's eye twitched as he started to pick out the words.

So Fellas, yeah, Fellas yeah  
>Has your girlfriend got the butt (hell yeah)<br>Well shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it, shake that healthy butt  
>Baby got back <p>

Wondering who on earth was listening to something like that, he pushed open the door and felt his jaw drop. A young blonde shinigami and – was that Ise-fukutaicho? No way . . . Whoever they were, the two were dancing, if it could be called that, atop an old crate in the warehouse. Renji stared at them for a moment, then quietly shut the door and simply walked away, deciding he really just didn't want to know.

_**Author's Note: Poor Renji X'D **_


	5. Objective 5: Keep the Personal Bubble

_**Author's Note: Ahh the un-adult rated hell of the ACT my brain is mush T_T but alas here is your fifth chapter of the insanity known as our fanfic. Thanks once again to reviewers!**_

A few hours later, the two had finally gotten bored with dancing on crates and were sitting on the floor of the warehouse listening as the combination of shouts, explosions, and alarms emanating from outside melded together melodically. Arrow looked over at Kiri whose legs were propped up on a crate and who was currently trying to open her water bottle.

"Hey," Arrow said simply as she watched Kiri finally pry the cap off the bottle, "I doubt you noticed but Renji walked in our on mini party earlier."

Kiri, who had been gulping some water, coughed, her eyes widening exponentially. Turning her torso she looked at her companion looking mortified, "Are you serious?"

At this the taller girl nodded with a smirk on her face and her eyes twinkling with amusement. "One of your favorite characters just watched you shake what your momma gave you." At this Kiri smacked her forehead, a solid line of sweat running down her face.

"You've got to be kidding," the blonde groaned as she shook her head, covering her face with her hands. "Why me?" At this Arrow laughed heartily as she watched her friend's crestfallen face.

"It could be worse," she supplied as she watched Kiri sulk into such a state she swore she might start growing mushrooms in her corner of emo-ness, "You could have been changing or in the nude." At this the shorter girl straightened, her white cheeks flushing red.

"T-that's never going to happen so we have no need to worry about it," Kiri said more to herself than Arrow as she thought of such an awkward scenario. "AHHH! Arrow why do you put these damn images in my head?" Arrow cackled as she fell on her back and snorted in amusement.

Shaking her head and trying to get the mental image out of her brain, Kiri turned to her friend set on changing the subject matter. "How are we going to rescue Gin? We're in Seireitei now, and we know where we are in the story so we pretty much have all of this afternoon to figure it out. Ichigo and all of them are busy fighting all of today so we shouldn't be bothered."

The taller girl twisting to get more comfortable leaned back on her elbows and looked up at the ceiling before responding. "Well . . . the only reason Gin died was because he went with Aizen in order to betray him. " She tapped her fingers on the wood floor, "What if Gin had never accompanied Aizen?"

Kiri's eyes flew open, "That would SERIOUSLY mess up the storyline!" She looked horrified at even the suggestion.

"Hey in my defense the Spirit King never said we were required to keep the plot intact, just that we were to save Gin," She used her fingers for emphasis, "By any means necessary."

The blond thought over the statement for a moment an idea coming to her. "We could stop Aizen taking the Hogyoku from Rukia. It would kill most of the plot, but it would keep Gin alive." She shrugged her shoulders.

Arrow raised an eyebrow as she was adjusting her pack, which was currently serving as a pillow. "You're insane. You are aware that the first time around, Aizen stopped ICHIGO, THE strawberry, with a single flick of his finger, correct?"

Kiri placed her elbow on her knee and propped her face in her hand, "Well it's worth a shot, isn't it? He doesn't know we're here, unlike Ichigo." The girl tilted her head slightly, "Besides do you have any other ideas?"

Arrow snorted in disdain, "Other than possibly throwing Gin over my shoulder and running . . ." She mindlessly blew a strand of black hair from her face, "Nope, I've got nothing." At this Kiri sighed.

"So I guess we've got no other choice," The girl felt her stomach twist in a hard knot; "We're taking on Aizen and getting the Hogyoku back." Her face fell into scowl as she moved her elbow and allowed her head to fall forward.

"Pretty much." Arrow responded as she watched the setting rays of the sun trickle through the old blinds. Her face had fallen from one of playful banter and teasing to one of thoughtful resignation.

"Arrow," Kiri said, her playfulness having faded as well, "We stick together no matter what right?"Startled at the question Arrow looked at Kiri surprised by such a question. Thinking it over she looked at her friend, head bent down and blonde hair hiding her eyes, as memories of their past together coming to the front.

"Always." She stated with force causing the blonde to look up her eyes losing some of their hardness.

In response she nodded and felt the knot in her stomach lessen.

"I think we go this way..." Kiri stated as she rounded the corner, earning a sharp glare from Arrow.

"And you tell me I can't navigate worth shit." Arrow countered, the device around her neck humming with power as it continued to hold her altered appearance in place. The two had finally gotten to sleep the night before in the warehouse and were now attempting to figure out how to get to the prominent white tower on the hill. For something as obvious, it sure was hard to get to.

"Oh shut up," Kiri grumbled. "We've still got a few days before Aizen betrays everyone, and Rukia's execution." Turning a corner the girl lengthened her steps and continued forward unfazed.

The girls walked down the long corridor exchanging comments and they continually looked for the route up to the penance cell. Their luck had so far proved to be lacking as they once again rounded another corner that looked EXACTLY like the last one.

"This is almost as bad as the woods incident." Arrow stated as she watched the blonde glare at the wall, anger seeping from her. Looking up she shot that glare towards her companion silencing any other remarks.

Releasing her glare Kiri was still thinking about what they would do with their extra time. Pausing she leaned against the nearest wall. "Well let's see . . . darn. I'm in a little trouble. I don't remember exactly what happened after Ichigo's fight with Ikkaku . . ."

Arrow's lips tightened at the corners. "I don't really remember either . . . . Well at least we know more than everyone else, though not too much apparently..." She tightened her shoulders before dropping them, a deep sigh escaping between her lips.

The blond grumbled. "We WOULD know more if I could just remember . . . ! Wait!" She dropped to the ground and sat cross-legged with her back against the wall, once again digging in her backpack. Arrow watched unsure of what antics her friend could possibly be up to now. "Thank goodness I had my laptop charged all the way before we went hiking. I have most of the Bleach episodes downloaded on here."

There was a moment of silence as Arrow processed the information. "You had your laptop in your backpack the whole time? What the hell were you planning on do with it in the middle of the woods?" Arrow stared as her friend pressed the power button.

"I carry it with me everywhere." She waved her hand dismissively, "AH, Here we go." Kiri glancing around, quickly pulled her friend into an unoccupied niche, and double-clicked an episode. Having shoved headphones into their ears they were met with the opening of BLEACH.

"We're sitting in the middle of the Seireitei watching bleach. . ." Arrow resisted the urge to pinch herself at the idiocy of it all.

Both girls watched as the characters flashed across the screen. Skimming through the episodes they quickly pinpointed exactly where they were.

"So we're three days from the execution..." Kiri said as she paused the episode and looked towards Arrow.

"So that gives us three days to train," Arrow explained simply as she straightened from her kneeling position. "Ichigo is currently learning bankai, which will take him the entire three days. Which gives us an opportunity to learn how to wield our zanpakutous. Let's go."

Quickly shoving her laptop back into her back pack Kiri scrambled after Arrow.

"Oh and how the hell do you suppose we learn how to do that-" the shorter girl flew into Arrow's back and was about to yell at her when she saw what had caught her attention.

"Ise Fukutaicho!" A Shinigami yelled as she quickly closed the distance between herself and the two ryoka.

"Ma'am," the girl said, clearly out of breath, "Kyoraku-taicho is looking for you."

Kiri glanced at her friend and suppressed a giggle at her horror-stricken face. The messenger noticed how horrified she looked and muttered, "I'm sorry . . ." then took off as fast as she could. Kiri grinned at Arrow.

"Well, lieutenant, shall we go find your captain?" Arrow glared at her and walked off.

"Well I don't suppose you know how to find him?" The glaring girl spat her voice coated in loathing, "Since apparently we have no choice but to go see the fool."

"Hey, don't blame me. You could've chosen to look like whoever you wanted. It's your fault you went along with my suggestion." The blond stopped and closed her eyes. "Hmm . . . hah! There he is. This is easier than I thought."

Arrow lifted an eyebrow looking at Kiri as though she had just grown a second head. "What did you just do?"

"Oh come on! This is Bleach! All you have to do is find his reiatsu! It's not hard . . ." Since the taller girl was still staring at Kiri in disbelief, she stepped forward. "Look, all you have to do is find the aura that's pink and smells like alcohol. It's very distinctive."

Arrow stopped and thought about it, noting that there was a certain distinctive sixth sense present she concentrated on it.

"Whoa," Arrow said, "That's kind of trippy." Turning towards Kiri she smiled widely, "Yours reminds me of smurfs and ramen." The blonde felt her jaw fall slightly as Arrow sauntered past an evil grin prominent on her face.

"Well, are you coming?" Arrow called over her shoulder, "Subordinate." She emphasized before flipping her bang and straitening her back. Kiri, mumbling several profanities under her breath, followed closely behind.

Walking into the long courtyard, the dark-haired girl looked around for the pink haori-wearing captain and was surprised to see she couldn't find him.

"NANAO-CHAN!" Arrow damn near flew out of her skin as she quickly jumped aside and turned to face the big man. Shit, she thought as she looked him up and down, this isn't going to work-

"Did I scare my precious Nanao-Chan~?" Shunsui cooed as he invaded Arrow's personal space. Out of reflex from dealing with such behavior she smacked him hard over the head with her sword.

"Owww~" he muttered, as Kiri snickered from her hiding spot around the corner. This really was going to be even more entertaining than she has anticipated . . . .

Shunsui gazed up at Nanao/Arrow with puppy eyes. "Why doesn't my lovely Nanao-Chan love me?" Arrow glared at him and cleared her throat, convincingly pushing up her glasses at the same time.

"You needed me for something, Captain?" Her horror stricken face had quickly reverted to one of calm cool composure.

"Does a Captain need a reason to dote upon his dearest lieutenant? Come now, you know you wanted to see me." Arrow shuddered as he once again shuffled closer into her personal bubble. She had issues with physical contact in general but he was pushing a boundary that she wasn't willing to deal with.

"If you don't need anything, I really should be helping search for the ryoka" She stated harshly her eyes hardening, "as should you, Captain. I honestly don't know why you even get paid." The black-haired girl watched the Captain squirm slightly and felt a small feeling of victory swell in her chest.

"I just wanted to ensure your personal well-being! There's no need to be so mean . . ." Shunsui whined "My Nanao-Chan is so cruel." Tears streamed openly down the captains face, but Arrow paid little heed.

"I'm well aware of that notice sir, I have work to do." And with that Arrow walked off as fast as she could and found Kiri rolling around on the street muffling her laughter.

"That was the BEST!" The blonde squealed in delight as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.

Arrow kicked Kiri in the back."Shut it."

Kyoraku Shunsui scooted over on his bench in the courtyard. Something had seemed off about his precious Nanao-chan. He wondered . . .

"Did you need me for something, Captain?" A light voice echoed throughout the courtyard.

Kyoraku sat straight up and stared into his lieutenant's face. "Why Nanao-Chan, did you miss me so much you had to come back so soon?"

Nanao did a double-take. "I've been in a meeting all morning. What's wrong with you?"

Yes, something was definitely off . . .


	6. Objective 6: Follow the Naked Woman!

_**Author's Note: YAY reviews! ^^ I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, I'm going to try to update as often as possible. Things are about to get a lot more interesting in the story so here we are, chapter 6.**_

_**Disclaimer: No I don't own Bleach, cause if I did….well let's just be glad that I don't XD**_

"That was great!" Kiri yelped happily as she trailed ahead of Arrow, who in turn was stomping down the street in annoyance her black bun bouncing with each of her steps. Growling in annoyance she grabbed the device around her neck and ripped it free, returning her to her normal self. Still growling she shoved the device in her robes, determined to not have to go through THAT again.

Kiri continued to skip down the street, Arrow sullenly following behind. "Hey, Arrow, if we're going to train, we should find a safe spot where we won't hurt anyone and no one will stumble upon us." The blonde explained as she turned and watched Arrow, her arms behind her head and thick hair lifting slightly in the breeze.

Arrow, who had snapped from her stupor momentarily, twitched her lip slightly, "We could always go look for Yoruichi, I mean she does have that underground training area after all."

The shorter girl lifted a thin eyebrow, watching the girl before her with an incredulous look. "In case you've forgotten, Ichigo is currently there, and RENJI will be too soon," Kiri trailed off heat rising to her cheeks at her memories of the crate dancing incident, if he's not already. We can't go there!"

"Well, oh wise one," Arrow countered, her voice dripping in sarcasm and arms crossing over her chest, "where the hell else are we to go? Maybe we should go ask old man Yama to help us out." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder in the opposite direction to emphasize her point. Kiri puckered her lips in response as she stepped closer to the girl, their faces coming into close proximity of one another.

"While that could be a possible plan I wouldn't recommend it." Arrow and Kiri jumped suddenly, their previous disagreement forgotten by the intrusion of the deep mysterious voice. Based purely on instinct both girls unsheathed their swords and pointed them towards the source of the voice.

"My my my," A black cat comment swishing it's tale back and forth as it watched the girls from the roof top, it's yellow eyes glistening, "aren't you jumping." Arrow felt herself deflate, as her arm went flat and fell to her side, she couldn't take many more of these random surprises.

"Oh my gosh!" Kiri suddenly screeched causing Arrow to cover her ears and hiss, "It's Yoruichi!"

"The one and only," The cat stated curiously as it watched the girls, "So it is true you are seers." The cat jumped down from her perch on the building and sat gracefully in front of them her head cocked thoughtfully to the side.

Arrow sent Kiri a quizzical look. Seers? Seriously?

"Kisuke informed me of you two before I left. Apparently you have a close connection to the Spirit King," The cat stretched it's back, its golden eyes never leaving the girls, "And if I'm not mistaken I hear you need a place to train."

Yoruichi sat for a moment and stared at the two girls before her taking in their varying appearances. One stood around 5'1; she was small in build and had a very childish appearance about her. Her hair was a crisp gold that waved to the center of her back with striking blue eyes and soft features. She was slim, feminine, and didn't look like she could put up much of a fight if she were prompted to, however her eyes told that she didn't lack a fighting spirit.

Her companion however was her exact opposite; standing near 5'9 she was very structured with long legs and a defined waist. Her hair was a vibrant black that would have trailed down her back had it not been captured in a tight bun. Her eyes were a brilliant emerald and her features were sharp. Toned arms hung at her side giving her the appearance of being more than capable of kicking someone's ass without a second thought.

The blonde one seemed to be having a little fan girl party in a corner, muttering, "OH MY GOSH she's even cuter and more awesome in real life oh my gosh . . ." while the other seemed to be still attempting to muffle her laughter over being called a seer.

"Hey, are you two even listening to me-? OUCH!" The cat yelped as the shorter girl leapt at her and scooped her up, hugging her tightly.

"YORUICHI I FREAKING LOVE YOU! YOU ARE SO FREAKING AWESOME!" Kiri squealed. Arrow stared at her as though she'd never seen anything quite so pathetic, and Yoruichi was too concerned with trying to breathe to care.

After several moments of watching in disbelief Arrow shook her head before yelling, "KIRI!" The blonde froze suddenly, her blue eyes going wide.

"Drop her." Kiri shook her head which only received a deep glare from Arrow.

"Kiri..." She stated threateningly her eyes narrowing. Kiri sighed in exasperation, a bit of a whiny tone slipping into her voice.

"Fine!" She immediately released her death grip on the cat who fell to the ground and fought valiantly to regain her breath.

"Sorry about that," Arrow stated sheepishly as she watched Yoruichi send Kiri some dark looks, "She's got a real problem with fuzzy things." Kiri smiled widely and waved shyly at the cat.

"Apparently," She scoffed, beginning to smooth her frazzled fur with her front paw, "thank you for making her release me."

"No problem." Arrow responded as Kiri stuck her tongue out at the other girl. Arrow felt her inner self sigh in despair; this wasn't going to go well.

"Wait a minute," Arrow said her eyes widening, "how the hell did you know about the spirit king?" Arrow felt her insides churning as she ran over the possibilities of how the ex-captain knew of their sudden appearance.

"Well duh," She heard Kiri say in her most prominent 'all knowing' voice, "Kisuke Urahara has an amazing ability to know exactly what's going on at all times." Arrow sent Kiri a disbelieving look. The girls exchange was cut short however when a deep rumbling laugh came from Yoruichi.

"You two are something else," The cat chortled as she watched the girls in amusement, "follow me."

"Hey, Yoruichi . . ." Kiri seeming to have recovered her composure asked as she followed the black cat down several corridors. "Aren't you supposed to be watching Ichigo and Zangetsu right now?"

The cat laughed the replied sarcastically, "As thrilling as it is watching Ichigo and Zangetsu hacking away at each other nonstop, I do occasionally need a break. Besides, Kisuke told me to go pick you up because you'd probably die if left on your own." To herself, she added, "Although that seems to have been an understatement."

A tick mark appeared over Arrow's head. "We're not near as incompetent as people seem to think we-"having not been watching she ran directly into a pole, "Ouch..."She rubbed her nose in embarrassment, and had to resist a growl when Yoruichi flipped her tail up in victory.

"Point proven," the cat stated, as Kiri rolled around laughing. Inwardly, Yoruichi sighed. She was going to kill Kisuke when she returned for sticking her with these two.

"Shut up Kiri." Arrow growled her eyes narrowing into slits. Kiri deciding to eg her on further grabbed Arrow's hair clip and shot off ahead of her companions her laughter echoing throughout the corridor. Cursing Arrow followed closely behind her hand sitting on her sword.

"GET YOUR BLONDE ASS BACK HERE!" Yoruichi felt her entire body go ridged, forget killing him, she would do far worse than allow him to escape with death.

An hour later, the three were standing at the top of a familiar, very long ladder, listening to the explosions and shouting below. Arrow was wondering how they were going to get down there when Kiri tugged at her sleeve.

"Hey . . . um . . . Arrow, did I ever tell you that I really, really hate ladders?" Kiri was staring at the rickety-looking contraption with wide eyes.

Arrow stared at her. "You're kidding me. You're afraid of heights?"

Kiri shook her head, still looking at the ladder. "Not at all. I'm fine with heights. I just really, really hate ladders. I've fallen off of them several times." Kiri's shoulders had slumped forward and she looked like she was about to pass out.

A familiar voice sounded behind them. "Well, it's either climb, jump, or go back. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do fine." The two girls turned to Yoruichi and yelped.

"YORUICHI FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PUT SOME FREAKING CLOTHES ON!" Kiri shrieked, as Arrow's eye twitched behind her. The woman posed and laughed.

"Your faces . . . ahh but it's still not as good as Ichigo. I really do think his was the best reaction I've ever gotten." The woman had a look of pure pride on her face that soon sent the two girls into bits of snickering.

Kiri started laughing, although she was still determinedly staring at a tree four feet to the right of Yoruichi. "Ahhh . . . I remember that episode . . . funniest thing ever . . ." The purple-haired woman gave her an odd look as Arrow smacked her on the arm. "Ahh sorry. Nothing."

"She must have killed some brain cells when she fell off those ladders," Arrow explained her glare at Kiri obvious. Kiri rubbed her arm pathetically as she watched Arrow walk off towards the ladder and began her decent downwards.

"Well" she heard Yoruichi, who was still in the nude, question "Are you going down or not." Kiri gulped as she looked at the old ladder and thought of the time she had almost given herself brain damage by missing a rung on a ladder. And that one had been remarkably shorter than the one she was about to attempt.

"Uh yea," Kiri stated dumbly, "Just got to...uh stretch first." She finished lamely. Had she been looking at Yoruichi she would have seen the look of mischief come across the woman's face.

"Stretching? How very unique," Yoruichi had stepped directly behind Kiri now her smile growing more devious with the passing moments, "You know if you're scared I could always carry you down." Kiri felt heat rise to her cheeks and squeaked in disbelief at the naked woman.

"A-absolutely not!" Kiri stated stepping away from the woman rapidly, "I've got this. Yea totally got this..." She said more to herself than Yoruichi.

A few more moments passed when suddenly Kiri felt a hard jab to her back and felt herself go flying forward. Screaming in disbelief she waved her arms helplessly as she went tumbling down the hole looking for anything to grab a hold of to prevent her fall of doom.

"A little push never hurt anyone." Yoruichi mumbled at the top of the ladder a grin spreading across her features.

_**Author's Note: Please pardon any grammar or spelling mistakes *sheepish grin* **_


	7. Objective 7: Talk to the Pieces of Metal

_**Author's Note: Duel Credit and AP are death I tell you. Updates been delayed slightly but TA DA here it is finally. **_

_**Disclaimer: No I don't own BLEACH, happy now?**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Objective 7: Talk to the Pieces of Metal<strong>_

Kiri managed to grab hold of a rung, almost dislocating her shoulder in the process. Shaking, she heaved herself up and fixed her grip, then shrieked, her voice going up several octaves. "YORUICHI! Get down here I am going to _fucking_ kill you!"

"Impressive," Arrow chuckled to the naked woman above her. "You actually managed to get a naughty word out of her."

Yoruichi laughed loudly, the noise resonating down through the cavern below. Kiri made her way the rest of the way down the ladder and stood at the bottom, glaring up.

"Come here little kitty cat . . . I'd like to have a little talk with you . . . I love cats but I'm sure I can make an exception . . ." Kiri's eyes had narrowed into slits as she looked up into the darkness surrounding the ladder.

Fortunately Arrow was down the ladder before Yoruichi and grabbed her friend in a tight headlock. "You're clear!" She shouted to the were-cat.

Yoruichi quickly made her way down the ladder and landed softly before the two girls.

"See it wasn't that bad." She explained simply to the fuming girl caught in the taller girls lock.

"Go die." Kiri hissed, as she tried valiantly to break her friends hold but to no avail. Kiri felt Arrow's side vibrate as she chuckled.

"That was brilliant," Arrow complimented Yoruichi, paying no heed to the blonde girl at her side, "I must say that made my day, possibly my month."

"Why thank you," Yoruichi responded, bowing slightly in the act. Maybe the dark haired one wasn't so bad.

"Of course." Arrow stated. Looking down towards Kiri she shook her slightly, "You done being an ass?" Kiri grumbled but ended up nodding. With a tight tug Kiri felt herself being released and stepped back glaring at both women.

"You're not CUTE anymore." Kiri stated spitefully her voice full of menace. Turning on her heal she stomped off leaving the other two women to chuckle in amusement.

"Uh Yoruichi," Arrow said suddenly, the were cat lifted an eyebrow in acknowledgement; "Not to be repetitive but can you put some clothes on?" Yoruichi stifled a laugh.

"What is it with everyone and their hatred of naked women?"

Kiri shouted back, still walking away, "Just because we're girls doesn't mean we wish to see you strutting around without any clothes! Either get some or turn back into a damn cat!"

Yoruichi turned back to Arrow. "I'm going to go make sure Ichigo and Zangetsu haven't killed each other, or destroyed something important. Both of you try and get a feel for your swords while I'm gone." Arrow followed after Kiri, listening as the explosions and shouting from the other side of the room temporarily ceased.

Kiri and Arrow wandered over to the far side of the rocky training area, Kiri still fuming slightly. "Oh, get over yourself, It wasn't that bad." Arrow pointed out.

"She kicked me down a fucking ladder. That was NOT. COOL." Kiri sat down on a rock. "Now leave me alone. I'm going to go talk to a sharp bit of metal." She settled herself into the cross-legged position with her sword across her lap like she had seen Ichigo do before. In turn Arrow unsheathed her zanpakutou and made a few experimental passes with it. Closing her eyes, she sighed. Kiri really had no idea how this was supposed to work. Within a few minutes she grumbled and got up again.

"Is that position supposed to be comfortable I can't feel my legs! Tch." Finally she just lay flat on the ground and tried to clear her mind.

Kiri sighed and wiggled a little to get more comfortable. She had never really been good at this meditation thing, she tended to either get bored and stop or, more often, fall asleep. The blonde decided she'd just daydream a little and hopefully the sword spirit would do the rest.

She pondered the events that had occurred over the past couple days. Honestly, now that she thought about it, the possibility of not being able to go home didn't really bother her as much as she would've thought. She had been looking forward to going to college, but she didn't have many close friends other than Arrow and she had spent most of her teenage years wanting to get as far from her family as possible. Slowly, Kiri slipped into what felt simultaneously more real and more like a dream than anything she'd ever experienced before.

She was never fully aware of when exactly she entered her inner world. But what struck her most when she realized where she was how beautiful and eerie it all was. If she had been in the real world, she probably would have felt extremely unsafe. But knowing that this moonlit, snow-covered aspen and fir forest was a part of her suddenly made Kiri feel more at home than anywhere else. Looking around at the glittering white powder that lay over everything, the blond smiled. _I wonder if I have a snow-and-ice type zanpakutou . . . that would be kind of cool._ It suddenly occurred to her that she should be freezing. It was cold, certainly, but not overly so: the sort of pleasant cold of a crisp fall afternoon.

Kiri wandered through the snow. She had seen snow under a full moon once before, three feet of it, and had thought it was the most beautiful thing in existence. The whole place exuded a feeling of peace and mystery. The girl knew her sword spirit should be there somewhere, but she had no idea where to begin looking, or even if she needed to look. This inner world was nothing like Ichigo's gravity-confused city, where everything was visible. Here, instead, everything seemed to be hidden.

_How long are you planning to wander pointlessly?_

The blond whirled around and jumped at the pair of glittering eyes staring at her. Looking around the eyes, she wasn't surprised she had never noticed the sword spirit. The white tigress made no imprint in the snow as she walked toward Kiri, her silvery-white and black fur melding perfectly into the moonlight and shadows around her. In fact, the only things that seemed real about her were her gleaming silver-blue eyes and the sapphire and moonstone earring dangling from her left ear. Recovering, Kiri smiled. She loved all animals, but cats and especially tigers had always been her favorite. The feline sat elegantly in the snow in front of her and regarded her.

Not sure how to address her sword spirit, the blond simply said, "Hi." Having only seen one other inner world, Ichigo's, and since when he met Zangetsu he'd been in danger of losing his soul forever and there wasn't really time for introduction, she had no idea how to greet this beautiful creature for the first time. Kiri winced at how informal she sounded. She'd always been terrible at introductions.

_Hi? That's it?_

The blond suddenly realized that the tigress wasn't actually talking, she could just hear her voice inside her head. It was deep and rich, although it currently also sounded a bit annoyed and sarcastic. Kiri scowled.

"Well, what am I supposed to say? 'Please, oh mighty sword spirit, consent to be my weapon'? I wasn't under the impression that either of us really have a choice in this."

The great cat licked a paw. _'There's no need to be so snippety. I was merely implying that you are rather overly informal, considering we have only just met.'_

Deciding she really didn't feel like opening hostilities this earlier, considering she could be stuck with this creature for a very long time, the blond took a deep calming breath and crouched in the snow across from the tigress. Extending her hand, she said, "Okay, let's try this again. I really am happy to meet you, and I hope we really will get along."

The cat stared at her as though she had never seen anything quite like her. Then, ever so slightly, the icy eyes softened as the gleaming paw settled heavily into Kiri's hand. _I'll try to put up with you._

* * *

><p>Arrow watched as Kiri spread out on the ground and figured she might as well follow suit. Slipping a ways away from Kiri she sat on the ground cross legged and pulled her zanpakutous out. Laying the swords out before her she released a large breath and watched as the blades gleamed beneath the light of the cavern.<br>It was strange she mused, they had only been in this world for a short while but she felt no fear. Of course she had pondered the possibilities that she would never return home, or that she had purely lost her mind and was making all of this stuff up. Whichever way it was she oddly felt a level of importance that she hadn't felt in a long time. Besides it wasn't like she had much to return home too.

She didn't have any family, having grown up an orphan, she had never known her birth parents. She grew up alone and came off as strange causing most people to keep their distance and in turn she did the same. It was a mutual understanding. As Arrow's mind drifted she soon found herself in a desolate wood with no living trees and everything was shrouded in dark shadows making it hard to decipher various shapes.

She lifted a quizzical eyebrow as she watched the woman suddenly materialize before her. She easily stood six feet in height and was flawlessly shaped. Her eyes were a deep onyx with specks of purple set in a long tapered face. Her hair fell in long silken strands of black down her bare toned back.

"So you are my zanpakutou." Arrow stated more than questioned noting striking appearance of the being before her. The woman nodded her head curtly as she trailed across the beaten path beneath her bare feet, her tattered dress billowing around her.  
>"I am," her voice was oddly soft as she closed the distance between herself and Arrow. "You are Arilyn." The woman smiled as the name slipped past her lips. Arrow nodded curtly in response.<p>

"I have peered into the deepest parts of your soul," the woman said simply as she reach out a hand and trailed it along Arrow's shoulder, "Your soul is far deeper than many I have come into contact with, however you carry cowardice with you." Arrow's eyes widened marginally before they quickly returned to their original frame.  
>Arrow's eyes suddenly hardening towards the beautiful woman.<br>"You are strong willed and unbreakable, but your kindness will be your downfall," the woman said, almost as though she were speaking to an unknowing child, "such chivalry with such potential such a waste. Very well." She walked away leaving Arrow standing oddly strait. "Let's begin."

Before Arrow could react the woman's appearance had altered as she pounced. Pinning Arrow to the ground was an enormous wolf whose teeth were bared. Not knowing how to move Arrow, running entirely on instinct rolled to the left barely avoiding a claw in the eye.

"You're fast," the wolf cooed darkly as it began circling around Arrow, "But tell me child how long can you last?"

Slipping into a kneeling position Arrow brandished her sword and balanced her weight, watching as the wolf slowly closed the distance between them.  
>"You have a warriors soul," the wolf explained calmly her cycle never ending as she trailed around the girl, "You want to protect those around you, even at the own cost of your very life. Tell me would you die for someone you know nothing of?"<p>

"Yes." Arrow responded instinctively as she watched the enormous wolf watch her. The wolf almost grinned as she began racing towards Arrow. As she prepared to counter the attack the wolf burst into light as it came upon Arrow.

Shading her eyes, Arrow allowed for the light to pass only taking in the sight of a young blonde girl watching her with curious gold eyes.

"Nikusu has a bad temper," The girl chirped happily, "I'm Artemisu, it's pleasure to meet you!" Arrow felt her blade slip from her hands, _what had just happened?_ The girl stood up and smiled pleasantly as she reach out and grabbed Arrow's hand in both of hers.

"We are going to be best friends." Artimisu's smile was genuine as she let Arrow's hand slip from her own and put her arms around her neck. "You're not alone anymore, 'kay?" She suddenly let go and skipped away laughing, her laugh like tinkering bells.

The world before Arrow suddenly began to spin out of focus and she was back in her body her entire body on edge as thoughts raced at impossible speeds through her mind.

* * *

><p>Kiri opened her eyes, feeling very peaceful. Blinking in the bright light, she looked over at Arrow, who was sitting on the ground watching her swords with careful eyes.<p>

"No luck?" Kiri asked as the other girl who looked up in response.

"No, I met them." Arrow's eyes were oddly unfocused as she watched the pieces of metal before her. "You?"

"Actually yeah I did," Kiri pushed a loose strand of hair from her face, "She's very elegant and pretty." Arrow snorted suddenly sounding like herself again.

"How touching, so what do we do now?" she asked as she pulled herself into a standing position, her swords once more clasp to her waist.

"Leave that up to me." They heard a light voice cut in startling both of the girls. Turning they took in the newly dressed sight of Yoruichi a bright grin on her face.

"I see you've spoken to your zanpakutous," She crossed her arms, "Now the real training begins. Up." Arrow looked quizzically at Kiri before jumping onto her feet quickly followed by the blonde.

"Draw your blades," Yoruichi instructed as she walked past the two, "You've a long ways to go if you want to assist in the rescue of Rukia Kuchiki." Complying with the were cats demands both girls carefully drew their blades and watched as Yoruichi looked over her shoulder a devilish smile on her face.

"I don't know your story," She stated simply cracking her neck, "But I can guarantee you have never felt hell like this." Before either girl could respond Yoruichi sent out a kick which Arrow barely blocked.

"Think fast!" Pivoting on her heel she shot out a punch towards Kiri who threw herself on the ground to avoid the strike.

"AUGH! Yoruichi!" Kiri yelled. "Couldn't we start out with some basic stuff first? I mean, Arrow's had martial arts training, but the extent of mine is two days of martial arts at summer camp and a semester of stage fighting in my 8th grade drama class! I quit martial arts at camp because the punching bags were hurting me more than I was hurting them!"

Arrow and Yoruichi both stared at the blond, incredulous at how utterly pathetic she was. "You're kidding me . . ." the were cat muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. "What does the Spirit King think he's doing, sending you to do this? You're hopeless! Possibly you a bit more than Arrow," she added to Kiri.

The blond leapt up. "I'm sorry I'm not a hero! You want a hero, go watch Ichigo some more. I'm not anything like Ichigo. I don't want to be here, I suck at fighting and physical activity in general, and I have a terrible work ethic! And if you're not going to take my utter helplessness into account in your training, I'll go figure it out myself! At least my sword spirit was nice to me!" Kiri's voice went hoarse. Taking several deep breaths, she walked off to a far corner of the underground cavern.

Arrow watched as the blondes back began to get smaller as she walked away.

"She really doesn't want to be here does she?" Yoruichi stated more so than questioned as she watched the girl walk away. Arrow sighed.

"Kiri has her moments," she murmured running a hand through her hair, "She's never been very receptive to being thrown into stuff randomly, and I mean even I'm slightly shaken up from all of this." Arrow glanced around her, "It's a lot you know."

Yoruichi's eyes surprisingly softened, "Maybe you should speak to her." Arrow nodded in response.

"However," Yoruichi said, "time is limited and you've got to be ready or you'll only be in the way." Arrow waved her hand dismissively.

"I'm well aware of that notion," Arrow turned slightly and smiled at Yoruichi, "We'll be there, I promise." She saluted to the old captain as she took after the blonde who had disappeared.

As soon as Arrow was out of ear shot Yoruichi responded, "I hope so, if what Kisuke says is true we're going to need you."

* * *

><p>Kiri sighed as she sat on a rock. She knew she shouldn't have shouted, and she honestly didn't mind being here as much as she made it sound like. But the were cat really was being unreasonable. Why did Yoruichi only seem to pick on her? She had always liked Yoruichi in the series, so it was a bit of a surprise. Although, she thought to herself, in the series, Yoruichi only ever had to train people who were naturals, like Ichigo, Chad, and Orihime. Maybe she just doesn't know how to deal with someone who'd rather be lying in bed watching anime than practicing punches and kicks.<p>

Settling into a more comfortable position, Kiri decided to see if she could talk to her sword spirit again. Besides, her inner world seemed to have become her literal "happy place," and she really needed to go there right now.

Not noticing Arrow walking up to her, the blond slipped easily into the moonlit forest. It wasn't as calm this time: a chilly breeze swept through the branches and a few clouds briefly obscured the moon. Taking a breath, Kiri calmed herself as she had done so many times before to keep herself from attacking people.

As the air cleared and the breeze melted away, the deep musical voice sounded behind her again. _You are awfully good at calming yourself. That will be helpful when wielding me. _

Smiling finally, Kiri faced the tigress. She was rather formal and a little arrogant, but the girl couldn't help but feel reassured at her words. "Thanks. I'll be fine. I just need someone to teach me who won't be impatient because I don't already know anything."

There was a smile in the cat's voice as she replied warmly, _What do you think I'm here for? A sword spirit is not just a way to make a weapon stronger._

Raising an eyebrow, the blond said, "That's very kind of you, but I'm not sure how a tigress, as capable as I am sure you are, will be able to teach me, a human, martial arts. Something about the difference in body shape might pose a challenge."

_All in time_, the tigress simply stated_, but for now you should probably talk to your friend her concern is admirable._ Kiri surprised at the motion immediately slipped from her world and opened her eyes to meet the steady green ones of her friend.

"You okay?" Arrow questioned as she plopped down next to Kiri, her shoulders slumping forward causing her elbows sit idly on her knees, "You're obviously pissed." At this Kiri bristled slightly.

"I'm fine it's just ridiculous," Kiri growled throwing her hands up in the air, "I mean sure it's we get to be in our favorite anime but my god we can't do this! Who do they think we are?" Her voice had grown in volume as she had ranted on leaving her voice echoing about her on the final note.

Arrow sighed before shaking her head and leaning against her friend lightly. "Hey we've been through worse," Arrow mindlessly twirled a strand of her hair around her finger tip her eyes unfocused, "We may not be the best or the strongest but we've got one thing they don't."

Kiri snorted in disdain, "And what is that, idiocy? A manga book? Fuzzy toe socks?"

"Persistence," Arrow stated simply and she bumped shoulders with the young girl, "We will conquer this and we will save Gin." Arrow smirked as she stood up and turned towards the blonde girl and offered her hand out towards Kiri.

"And we'll look badass doing it." Kiri looked at Arrow's hand for a moment before reaching out and grabbing it, allowing the dark haired girl to pull her up and out of her ravine of self pity.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: This chapter was ungodly long *dies* <strong>_

_**Please review! Reviews are gold to fan fiction writers with no lives! *waves innocently***_


	8. Objective 8:Attempt to Keep Your Dignity

_**Author's Note: Thank you reviewers and story alerters! *hands over virtual cookies* Hope you're prepared to laugh your asses off at this chapter. **_

_**Chapter 8: 'Attempt' to Keep Your Dignity Intact**_

Arrow panted as she slid down the rock, thoroughly exhausted. Yoruichi had pushed both herself and Kiri to a point of breaking and was only now letting up long enough to go watch Ichigo. Wiping the sweat from her eyes she turned her gaze towards the black lump on the ground.

Kiri was sprawled out her blonde hair thoroughly caked in dirt, wheezing as though she were dying. Watching her friend Kiri looked up sending her the darkest look she could muster.

"Persistence?" She wheezed, attempting to push herself up, "I hate you." At this Arrow snorted and turned her head in the opposite direction laughing.

"Well you look badass." Arrow chortled sarcastically, her sides heaving and stinging from the combination of the training and laughter.

"Go die," Kiri hissed, "I would come over there and kick your ass but I refuse to move." And with that Kiri flopped back down on her stomach, thoroughly exhausted. Arrow, her laughing having subsided and risen into a standing position.

"Hey we should go hunt for the healing spring," The dark haired girl supplied, rotating the soreness out of her shoulder, "It'd make you feel better." At this Kiri peeked up her eyes narrowed slightly.

"But that means I have to move." She whined as she watched her companion roll her eyes. Walking towards her friend Arrow promptly kicked her in the ass.

"Get up. It's only going to hurt worse if you don't work it out. Trust me I know from experience." And with that Arrow reach down and promptly pulled the blonde into an upright position.

* * *

><p>Several minutes later, the two girls were happily soaking in the steaming water. Arrow leaned happily against the large rock in the middle of the spring. "This is amazing. I wouldn't mind having one of these back home." Sighing in delight the dark haired girl sunk deeper into the water her eyes closed.<p>

Kiri popped up from underwater. "You're telling me! I think I'm just going to get a giant tank and drain the whole thing to take with us when we go back. This must be the crazy cat lady's secret to continuing her torture for days at a time." She dove under again, splashing Arrow in the face in the process. The taller girl splashed her back as she came up and Kiri spluttered at the faceful of water, then grinned and shoved a wave at her friend.

Arrow dove away from the wave and threw her own counter assault. Soon the splashing game had turned into full out war. Without really paying any heed to where they were going both girls began a game of cat and mouse and threw ungodly amounts of water at one another.

They splashed one another for a time before Arrow got her foot underneath Kiri's knees and sent the girl tumbling beneath the surface of the pool. Sputtering Kiri quickly regained her balance and took in the cackling appearance of her dark haired friend.

"I will destroy you!" Kiri screeched as she began splashing towards the taller girl who, still laughing began backing up her hands held up defensively. She continued to back up her face broke out in a wide grin as she rounded about the large rock into the opposite side of the large bathing pool.

"Now now Kiri no need to be so hostile." Arrow laughed as the blonde continued trying to stomp through the water trying to get to her. Her path was suddenly stopped though when her shoulder brushed against something that oddly felt like another human, a very muscular human. Her eyes widening suddenly, she jumped back and came face to face with what appeared to be a very startled Ichigo Kurosaki, standing there before her, completely naked.

Not thinking clearly she hadn't quite came to the conclusion that she was indeed naked herself and didn't think to cover herself.

And instead of acting on logic and covering herself or better yet retreating she proceeded to point out a very tactless fact.

"Wow your hair is even worse in real life," and obviously not thinking she stepped closer and reach up beyond his shoulder and ruffled his wet hair slightly, "Yep completely real."

In the mean while, Renji, could only stare wide eyed as he watched the tall woman, seemingly unaware of her current state of nakedness, get even closer to Ichigo and ruffle his hair.

Thoroughly thrown for a loop Ichigo could do nothing but let his eyes roam, the girl having been on the second women he had ever seen naked, and felt a massive heat rise to his cheeks.

"WHAT THE HELL!" He screeched suddenly wheeling back away from the woman covering his eyes, "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?" At this Arrow snapped from her ravine and felt heat rush to her cheeks, what the hell had she just done? Immediately trying to cover herself and stuttering an apology Arrow began scrambling for the rock behind her, knowing full well that the shallow part of the pool was doing little to help her.

Renji yelled suddenly however when suddenly blonde girl had jumped from the water and tackled him.

"AH HAH got you Arrow!" The girl proceeded to laugh hysterically until she caught sight of her target standing flushed against the large boulder her eyes wide. Gulping she looked down and felt her heart stop.

Kiri yelped and leapt back behind the rock, beet red with embarrassment. Not only had she just glomped Renji, of all people, she just HAD to be naked while doing it. She curled up in a little ball and tried not to think about it as she listened to Arrow splutter at Ichigo. Poking her head around the rock, she saw what had to be the most classic scene of her life.

Her friend was ducked as low in the water as possible and attempting to explain as Ichigo covered his face and Renji blushed and looked in a different direction. Just as Kiri thought it couldn't get any worse, Yoruichi shunpoed atop the rock.

"Are you all enjoying yourselves over here? My goodness . . ." Arrow, Ichigo, and Renji all stared at the were cat as she realized what was going on. "All right! Ichigo, Renji, this is Arrow and hiding behind the rock over here is Kiri! They're seers, so they're going to be helping us out!"

A solid line of sweat slid down everyone's face.

"My my my," Yoruichi cooed overlooking Kiri and Arrow, "You girls actually have something, well more so you Arrow, Kiri I think you're just hopeless all the way around." At this Kiri squeaked indignity and Arrow sunk deeper into the spring.

"YORUICHI!" Ichigo yelled suddenly jumping up and pointing an accusing finger at her, "Why do you keep assaulting me with naked women!" At this Yoruichi snickered.

"I figured you might enjoy it young Ichigo," She sat down, her thumb tracing her lip, "Of course I could always be wrong and you could swing the other way." At this Ichigo yelled in frustration and took off in battle of banter with Yoruichi. Seeing it as their chance to escape Arrow and Kiri began to sneak quickly towards the edge of the pool and began shuffling out sneakily trying to cover themselves and get away silently.

"HOLLOW!" Yoruichi screamed suddenly causing both girls to drop their arms and look around frantically and both men to turn and look at both girls on the shore. Two solid lines of blood began to frantically trace their way down the two males' faces and they hectically looked elsewhere.

Yoruichi cackled in delight as she watched the girls glare at her in frustration. Without further conflict Kiri quickly dove underneath the water her entire sense of dignity ripped away from her. While in turn Arrow stood there and glared at Yoruichi's laughing form. Snatching up a rock she easily pegged the were cat.

"THAT'S IT!" She yelled, leaping out of the spring and hurriedly wrapping her towel around herself. She tossed the other towel to Kiri, who caught it and also scrambled out of the pool. "No more of this shit! We're leaving."

The two girls dashed off to the other end of the training area to get away from the were cat. They had mostly dried off before Kiri made an uncomfortable observation.

"Hey, Arrow . . . we left all out clothes and stuff back at the pool . . ." The taller girl's eye twitched as she stared back the way they had come.

"Of course we did." She murmured sarcastically as she wrung her hair out. "Guess we've got no choice but to go back and get them...Maybe Ichigo and Renji are gone by now..." Readjusting her towel Arrow began trailing across the training field with Kiri following closely behind her.

"I can't believe her!" Kiri said sounding thoroughly annoyed, "UGH first it was dancing on crates, then I tackled him naked! This can't get any worse." Shaking her head she watched as the spring became larger as well as their pile of clothes still thrown about carelessly by the pool.

"Come on let's just get our clothes and get out of here," Arrow spouted, looking over her shoulder towards Kiri, "Besides it's not like they're here. I imagine they booked it as soon as they were able." The blonde couldn't argue with that.

Approaching their pile of clothes the girls began gathering them up when they heard a very girlish shriek sound near them. Looking up Arrow felt her eye twitch in disbelief. There before her stood two very naked men looked rather distraught as the presence of the two girls.

"We've got to stop meeting like this." Arrow stated simply as she watched the blush grow even more prominent in the two males' cheeks.

"That damn were cat stole our towels!" Renji spat, his hands covering key parts of his anatomy that neither girl wanted to see.

Kiri, still determinedly looking away from the two males, picked up her clothing and said simply, "I'm going to kill that woman one day." She pulled her outer shirt on, which fortunately was the length of a short bathrobe on her, dropped her towel, and walked away.

Arrow smirked and scooped up her own garments. "Well I sure as hell am not going to go find your towels for you. Yoruichi probably has them. She probably wants you two to fight her for them."

Ichigo's jaw dropped. "WE HAVE NO CLOTHES, AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO FIGHT HER!" Puberty seemed to rapidly reverse itself as his voice went up several octaves.

The dark-haired girl tossed Kiri's abandoned towel at the two men. "Here, you can share. Have fun." Smirking in a way that could have only been compared to the devil Arrow flipped her hair and turned on her heel, making her way away from the two men. "Try not to have too much fun."

Ichigo and Renji stared at the retreating girl, then at the towel, then at each other. "You have GOT to be kidding me . . ."

_**Author's Note: *cackles evilly* Yes yes I know it's filler but it's so worth it. Review!**_


	9. Objective 9: Learn Their Names

_**Author's Note: Okay it's been WAYY too long since last I updated GOMEN! It has been super chaotic for both myself and my co-author since college finals and everything else under the sun had us actually doing something productive for once. Thanks once again to our reviewers! Look forwards to updates going back to being more regular once again now that the chaos has settled slightly. Enjoy!**_

Up left pivot swing- Arrow spun on her heel and drove her fist towards Yoruichi. It almost connected but the woman caught it in the nick of time. Sliding back a few feet from the force the werecat let out a low whistle.

"You're good," The woman swung her foot up and Arrow quickly dodged it and countered with a knee swipe. "Really good! I'm impressed!" Yoruichi flipped over and landed in a straight position.

"You've had previous training." It was more a statement than a question. Arrow nodded, too winded to give a verbal response.

"Yeah, sure," Kiri muttered under her breath, "compliment the one who already knows what she's doing and leave the pathetic one to her own devices." She sat down heavily on a rock. "Oi, Yoruichi, quit dancing with Arrow and get over here and help the one who actually needs HELP!"

Grumbling about pathetic people, the werecat complied.

* * *

><p>"No, you're supposed to twist your arm when you punch, not like that . . ." She fixed Kiri's stance for the umpteeth time. "Honestly, it is not that difficult!"<p>

The blonde glared at her. "Yes, it is! Can't I just learn sword fighting? That sounds easier. And I'm not a huge fan of hand-to-hand anyway."

"And if someone disarms you? Then how will you fight?" The tall woman raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't that what kido is for? I'd rather learn kido than this! It's not my thing at all, can't you tell?" The blonde hissed back waving her arms in exasperation.

The day is only getting longer, Yoruichi thought sourly.

* * *

><p>Arrow wiped the sweat from her eyes as she watched Yoruichi and Kiri banter back and forth. She had to suppress a smirk as she watched the two, it was like watching Looney Toons.<p>

Kiri was up on the rock yelling down towards Yoruichi, who had her arms crossed over her chest and a look of annoyance prominent on her face. Maybe things really weren't going to be that bad after all.

Throwing her swords over her shoulder she made her way across the training field and towards her pile of stuff propped up against a large boulder.

Whistling, she began rummaging through her pack looking for her iPod when she heard the tell tale signs of Kiri who was stomping towards her.

"How'd that go for you?" Arrow called without turning to face her friend. She heard a low growl escape the blonde and bent further down to hide her smile.

"She kicked me in the head! How do you think it went!"

"Well, then maybe you should learn hand-to-hand so you can block her when she tries to kick you in the head." Arrow commented dryly as Kiri huffed and sat down on a rock.

"But I'm just not interested in hand-to-hand. I did convince her to let me try kido instead. Maybe that will be easier. I always thought kido looked like fun." The blond headed back toward the werecat as Arrow continued digging through her things.

A few minutes later there was a loud BOOM followed by a huge cloud of dust, shrieks, and a hoot of laughter. Snorting to herself and expecting to see Kiri lying on the ground with her kido blown up in her face, the taller girl was shocked to see her friend skip out of the dust cloud, completely elated.

"I GOT HER! I GOT HER GOOOOOOD!" Kiri did a little celebratory dance. "I KNEW I would like kido!"

Arrow felt a line of sweat slide down her face as the cloud of dust cleared to reveal a disheveled Yoruichi.

"AH HAH!" Kiri yelled arrogantly, "Who's hopeless now, huh?" Yoruichi stood with her arms crossed over her chest and a smile on her face.

"You're still hopeless," Yoruichi straightened her ponytail, "Only slightly less so now though." At this Kiri scowled and grumbled under her breath.

"Now," Yoruichi continued, "Our time is limited, and as Ichigo is yet to achieve bankai, we may be faced with having to save Rukia Kuchiki on our own."

"Nah," Kiri stated, her happiness still imbedded in her features, "It's the second day right? He'll get it tomorrow, about an hour or so before he has to go save Rukia." Arrow looked towards Kiri disbelievingly. Noting her friends look the blonde's hands immediately flew to her mouth.

"Oops." She squeaked.

Arrow smacked Kiri, "Yea oops." Yoruichi arched an eyebrow.

"So you truly are seers then?" the tall woman asked, her golden eyes watching the girls intently.

"Kinda-" Arrow started.

"Absolutely!" Kiri yelled.

The girls looked at one another not entirely sure how to continue.

"Well . . ." the blond muttered, looking at her friend.

"Yeah," Arrow stated with finality. "We're seers. But don't ask us too much, you know the whole 'knowing the future will change it' thing, right?"

Yoruichi stared at the two disbelievingly for a moment, then sighed. "I'm going to go check on the two idiots blowing stuff up over there. Do not destroy anything."

The two girls sighed and stared after her before picking up their swords again.

* * *

><p>Several hours later, Kiri collapsed drearily on a rock. "That's it, I'm done." She really had gotten considerably better since Yoruichi had been slightly more considerate of her lack of abilities, but considering how bad she'd been to start with she was still terrifyingly pathetic.<p>

Arrow rolled her eyes at her friend and stretched. Ever since her first disastrous kido attempt after discovering Kiri was good at it (Yoruichi was still fuming at the massive new swimming hole blown in the middle of one of the springs) the taller girl had stuck to hand-to-hand and swordsmanship. "We still don't know what our zanpakutous do. We could always try and talk to them again."

The blond sniggered. "I bet I know what your ability is!" Turning her head towards her companion she smiled widely.

"What . . . ." Arrow raised an eyebrow, highly wary of the words about to leave her friends mouth.

"Annoying people so much that they drop dead!"

Arrow threw out a fist and smacked Kiri across the nose, sending the blonde girl tumbling. "What was that?"

Kiri hissed as she grabbed her nose and looked at Arrow through bleary eyes, "Oohh struck a nerve did I?"

Her companion snorted, "Well if mine is for annoying people to death, yours must be renowned for sitting on her ass and complaining her enemies to death!" At this both girls stared pointedly at each other, sparks flying between them.

"Enough," Arrow said finally, rolling the soreness out of her shoulder, "Time is limited and as much as I would love to beat up a shorty like you, I have more important things to do." As a final point she stuck out her tongue childishly before unsheathing her blades and laying them out before her. Closing her eyes she tried to concentrate on awakening the wolf spirits that were within the metal, however she was instead met with the sound of snickering. Cracking an eye open she glanced towards Kiri.

"What's so funny?" Arrow propped watching as her blonde friend stretched her arms above her head.

"I'm just hoping your sword's going to try and kill you again. I don't blame it. I'd help it if I could." The shorter girl stuck out her tongue as well. "At least my sword LIKES me!" She slid into her inner world before her friend could retort.

* * *

><p>The snow sparkled as always, and the trees stood as dark and silent as they always had. "Hello?" Kiri had long since given up on looking for her spirit. There was clearly no way to find her if she didn't want to be found.<p>

_Hello again. _

Jumping, the blond sighed as she caught sight of the tigress sitting disturbingly close to her. "Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?"

The feline flicked her tail and did not reply.

"Anyway . . . I don't know if you can tell, but I've gotten stronger. Although I'm still terrible at melee stuff."

_That is understandable. Your abilities are not melee oriented, so there is little need for it. Besides, it reflects your personality. You prefer to take the method that involves the least possible physical effort._

"Hey!" Kiri grumbled. Although it IS true . . . she thought to herself.

The tigress rose. _Your strength will continue to grow. But you must first understand what it is you do best. As a simple-minded human, you will never figure out on your own, of course, but if you defeat me in a challenge, I will tell you your abilities, and my name._

* * *

><p>Arrow resisted the urge to go and kick her unconscious friend and settled for slipping into her spirit world. Opening her eyes Arrow was once again met with the desolate forest, a chilly wind sweeping through the landscape. The full blood moon hung high in the sky illuminating the area around Arrow.<p>

Releasing a shaky breath she kept the tight coil in her shoulders pulled, waiting any moment for the attack that she knew was coming. Closing her eyes she listened carefully, no noise came until suddenly to her right-

Snapping her eyes open her arm shot out and caught the fist of Nikusu. The spirits eyes widened slightly before her mouth broke out into a wide grin.

"You're finally getting strong enough to wield me, impressive." Twisting her arm Nikusu jumped back landing in a battle stance, her arms held up in a guard.

"I won't back down." Arrow said turning and falling into a similar battle stance as Nikusu. The spirit chuckled.

"This is the side of you I want to see," The dark haired woman cooed as a black light encircled her body replacing her billowing dress with a black outfit that covered her body and a new mask covering her face. Her hair had also been pulled up in a long black braid dancing in the suddenly strong wind. "Come, let's see which one of us will come out victorious." Nodding Arrow began to circle around Nikusu, her eyes never breaking contact with the other woman's. "If you win I shall reveal my power to you and grant you my true name."

"Oh no!" A high voice suddenly rang out, "Please be nice Nikusu! I don't want to have to look for someone else to play tag with me!" Arrow almost felt a line of sweat trail down her face.

She really hoped that Kiri was getting it a little easier than she was.

* * *

><p>Kiri laughed nervously. "Challenge? I'm not really good with challenges . . . . unless it's an anime or Lord of the Rings trivia competition?" she asked hopefully.<p>

The cat's eyes seemed to twinkle a little more in the moonlight, although otherwise her expression remained as it always had. _Never fear, I know well your strengths. I will not test you on physical endurance, not because it is not important, but because you will not need it to wield me as you will need other things._ Glancing at a nearby fallen tree, she added, _I recommend you get comfortable._

Sitting, the blond giggled. "If you're testing me on my ability to fall asleep in off-the-wall places, I GUARANTEE I will beat you, even if you ARE a cat!" She closed her eyes and asked, "Now what?"

_Wielding me will require mental strength above all else._ The tigress circled her resting wielder.

Kiri opened an eye. "Wait. So you're not a snow-and-ice type spirit?"

_What gave you that idea?_

The girl raised an eyebrow at the heaps of snow that surrounded them. "Nevermind." _Apparently I was wrong then . . ._

_As I was saying, mental strength is of utmost importance. Most warriors, especially those whose abilities are not mental, greatly underestimate the power of the mind to both create and destroy. Before I tell you how you can use your power, you must defeat me in a battle of wills. I am going to shield my mind. You must break into it._

Sitting straight upright, Kiri gaped at her sword. "WHAT? So . . . you want me to become a telepath, just like that? I don't even have the slightest idea where to start . . ." The blonde looked at her spirit disbelievingly.

_Yes you do. If you did not have the ability, my powers would not be what they are. And you know you can do it. In your world, you were known for unnerving those around you with your ability to say what they were thinking at the same time as them, were you not?_

"Well yes, but-" the girl tried to counter.

_You could also unintentionally alter the actions of others, yes?_

"Yes, but that-"

_You have the ability. Now all you need is the will. Find my mind, and break into it, if you can._

Sighing, Kiri sat back again and cleared her thoughts. Once her mind was blank, she slowly extended her thoughts, feeling for anything around her. She jumped and nearly fell off the log as she almost immediately felt the presence of the tiger spirit. Concentrating her energy toward the creature, Kiri frowned. She could definitely feel that the spirit was there, but her mind seemed simultaneously slippery and ethereal. No matter how she tried to get into it, it always floated away from her, leaving no cracks for her to slip through.

* * *

><p>Skidding backwards on her knees, Arrow hissed in frustration. Feeling the ground turn up beneath her feet, she felt herself finally stop<em>. She's strong<em>, the ebony tressed girl mused darkly_, really strong, I can't even break her guard._

"Come on Arilyn!" Nikusu hissed as her figure materialized from the trees, "how can you wield a blade based entirely on power if you can't even stand? You're worse than an infant!" With that Nikusu threw several mock kicks in the air sending sparks of dark power spiraling towards Arrow. With no time the dodge the young woman took the blunt of the blow and was sent spiraling backwards.

Landing with an impact that shook the ground Arrow resisted the urge to scream out in agony. Upon impact Arrow had heard the sickening crunch of her ribs cracking and the sheer force that tore the skin from her arms. Lying in a puddle of her own blood, Arrow could do nothing more than grit her teeth. Get up, she chided herself, don't you dare quit, get up! Groaning Arrow rolled onto her side and pushing past the immense pain forced herself onto her knees. Gasping for breath she could feel Nikusu's eyes bearing down on her.

"Useless." Nikusu sent a sharp kick across Arrow's face, knocking the young woman to the side once more and rendering her just before the point of unconsciousness. Arrow's ragged breathing echoed throughout the desolate land and earned nothing more than a scoff from the spirit. As Arrow felt her consciousness begin to slip she heard a single phrase slip between Nikusu's lips.

"No wonder you couldn't protect Elizabeth." At this Arrow's eyes widened. A suddenly onslaught of thoughts and memories surged through Arrow's mind. Feeling her eyes narrow Arrow could only feel darkness fill her herself_, how dare she_.

"Are you going to sit there and delay the inevitable all day?" Nikusu questioned, her voice dripping with annoyance as she once again closed the distance between herself and the ground girl, "I don't have time for someone as pathetic as yourself!" With great force Nikusu attempted to stomp Arrow but was stopped when her foot collided with something surprisingly strong.

Glancing down in slight surprise the woman was met with the sight of an upright Arrow, her attack blocked by the girl's injured arms. Looking down she noticed the shaking had left the girl's body and was exchanged for solid strength.

"Are you kidding?" Arrow asked with a dark smirk, her voice lacking any weakness that had been there previously. Her eyes were coated in something that could only be described as pure hatred, "We're only getting warmed up. I will not be beaten by scum such as yourself." Nikusu's eyes widened slightly as she felt the unexpected impact to her face and felt herself being thrown across the training field. Landing on her feet, the amethyst eyed spirit looked up to find Arrow standing tall, a strange power pulsating around her, her eyes locked onto the spirit.

Nikusu smiled, "THIS is the power I wanted to see; now you're actually trying." Rising back into battle stance the spirit wiped the thin trail of blood that streamed from her nose away from her face.

"Come Arilyn; show me the true power of hatred." At this Arrow's eyes narrowed as power flared around her fist, "Let me see if you are truly worthy of wielding the goddess blades."

* * *

><p>Kiri gritted her teeth as she felt sweat gather on her brow despite the chill of the forest. She could tell her frustration was dulling her power and did her best to dispel it, but the tigress still seemed displeased.<p>

_Kierra. You are not trying._

The blond opened her eyes and glared at the spirit. "Yes, I am! Forgive me for never having done this before!"

_I know you have more power than this! TRY!_

Grumbling, she closed her eyes again and sat back, taking a few deep breaths until her mind was blank once more. Still feeling the spirit's presence beside her, this time she envisioned her thoughts as a chisel, sharpening them until she felt they could pierce the tigress's mental shield. Sending this mental chisel flying toward her zanpakutou as hard as she could, she felt it collide solidly with the shield and shatter. Kiri moaned as her ever-increasing headache throbbed and almost broke her concentration, but beneath that, she thought she had felt the barrier crack a little. Her spirit must have felt it as well, as she recoiled ever so slightly.

Emboldened by her success, Kiri launched another attack, this time aiming as best she could for the crack she had already made. Instead of a chisel, she honed her mental attack into a fine-tipped spear, to slip through the crack and widen it.

The girl threw her mind fully into the attack, the cracks in the shield widening with every thrust of her spear. As she chipped away at the barrier, she began to notice thoughts and feelings from the spirit that she hadn't been able to sense before. They were very faint, especially since the tigress did her best to hide them as soon as they floated into view, but ever so often Kiri caught a glimpse of a particularly vivid one. The feel of the snow under the cat's paws. Intense pride, but also loyalty and a wish for power. A cave that seemed to be the spirit's home when Kiri was not in her world. Once the blond even had a split-second image of herself as she looked to the tigress, which caught her so off guard she almost broke out of her attack.

_You are doing well._ This thought was sent directly to her. _Continue._

Gritting her teeth, Kiri threw all her remaining power at what was left of the shield. It held for a moment, then suddenly the entire sphere shattered and all at once the blond had no idea who she was. Her tail itched. Wait, that wasn't right, she didn't have a tail . . . but the human sitting across from her had defeated her defenses at last and had therefore earned the knowledge of her name . . . but she WAS the girl sitting on the tree stump . . . .

_Enough._ The spirit closed her mind and suddenly Kiri was Kiri again. _You have taken the first step to wielding me, and done admirably._

Opening her eyes and massaging her throbbing temples, the girl looked at her. "I thought I was doing badly." She gripped her head tighter. "Will this happen every time?"

_As you learn to control what you see and to temper your hopelessly sloppy power, the headaches should disappear. _

Taking a seat directly in front of her wielder, the spirit stared into her eyes and Kiri into her uncanny icy ones. _And so you have passed my challenge, and I will tell you my name, and your true power._

_My name is Shiko no Tora, and you are an illusion-user._

* * *

><p>Arrow actually found herself<em> winning <em>against her spirit as she sent another powerful shock wave towards the woman, who barely dodged the attack.  
>Flipping away from the spirit, Arrow spun her legs up to connect painfully with the masked spirits face. In response Nikusu caught Arrow's leg and sent the younger woman flying in the opposite direction of herself.<br>Both females landed with resounding thuds as the ground shook from their impacts. Their ragged breathing echoed throughout the desolate woods and both woman lay extremely still, their bodies finally pushed to a point of exhaustion that caused collapse.  
>Turning onto her stomach, Arrow felt her entire world lurch as everything around her began to spin. <em>I'm through; <em>she thought as she felt the anger and adrenaline slip away, leaving her in a puddle of her own sweat and misery. Growling in frustration she punched the ground and attempted to push herself up once more but failed as she fell back to the earth.

_I couldn't honor your memory,_ she thought as her world began to be blotched out with patches of black, _for that I am sorry. _When Arrow thought she was finally going to slip into oblivion she heard a cackle from her opponent and found herself watching the woman. Her dark apparel had once again began to shift, as her black outwear switched back into her tattered gown and her ebony locks were released to fall carelessly about the her shoulders.  
>Looking up, Nikusu flashed Arrow a brief smirk before pushing herself up onto her knees and then to her feet. Arrow felt her shoulders tense at her obvious defeat and at what she assumed was her impending doom. However she was shocked to see Nikusu turn her head to look towards the blood moon and smirk humorously making no motion to attack.<p>

"You win," Nikusu admitted bleakly, her piercing gaze turning back towards Arrow, watching her every move.

"I l-lost." Arrow managed to croak out as she watched the woman roll her neck as if though it were just stiff and she had not just battled for what seemed an eternity.

"Tch, yes technically you didn't beat me," The woman turned her head back towards the grounded female once more her eyes roaming over her fallen figure, "but you did earn a small margin of my respect. Besides my power has remained dormant for far too long and you're my only chance to release it therefore I say you will wield me." Turning on her heel Nikusu began making her way back up the summit her hips swaying with each step she took.

"My real name is Unmei no Arashi Nikusu," The woman stopped at the summit and looked back down towards her new grounded wielder, "and you now have the ability to steal the power and life force of others around you and bring it into yourself and use it for your own bidding. Until we meet again." With that final sentence Nikusu suddenly dissipated into the air leaving Arrow laying on the ground a sudden twinge of relief running through herself.

"YAY!" She suddenly heard a bright and happy voice echo throughout the woods as the beautiful blonde Artemisu came racing down into the field, her golden locks twisting in the air.  
>"You beat Nikusu Arrow-chan!" The blonde girl bent down and patted the girl on the head, "you can now use her powers to your advantage!" The girl giggled delightfully as she watched her wielder.<p>

"Now maybe you'll grow strong enough to even eventually beat me and use me!" With this Artemisu winked and ran off her peals of laughter echoing throughout the wood. Arrow could have sworn her heart stopped.

_Strong enough to beat…Artemisu? _She shook her head disbelievingly, _Well at least that's one challenge down right?_

_**Author's Note:**_

**Shiko no Tora: Tiger of Thought**

_**Unmei no Arashi Nikusu: Tempest of Fate, Nyx**_


	10. Objective 10: Race Against Time

_**Author's Note: HURRAY BREAK! Which means more updates throughout the holiday season! The next chapter or so has already been written so look forward to that being posted tomorrow. Anyway! Onto the next chapter.**_

_**Disclaimer: Is Gin alive again? Then I still don't own Bleach.**_

Arrow opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling of the cavern, briefly wondering why she was on the ground. Turning her head, she caught sight of Kiri absolutely passed out next to her. We must have fallen asleep after we met with our spirits . . . she thought to herself. Continuing to stare blankly at the eternally-lit room, the taller girl wondered idly what time it was.

. . .

SHIT.

Scrambling to her feet and shaking her head to dispel the momentary dizziness, she shook Kiri violently.

"Wuzzgoinon . . ."

"KIRI! WE FELL ASLEEP AFTER TRAINING!"

"Crap!" The blond leapt up. "What time is it? Is it still the second day? Are we too late?"

"No clue, get up!" Dragging the blonde to her feet Arrow took off at a rapid sprint towards the entrance to the cavern. Trailing not too far behind her a half asleep Kiri was attempting to clip Shiko to her waist.

"Damn damn damn SHIT!" the taller girl yelled in frustration as she skidded across the training grounds, her eyes ever searching for a certain orange haired substitute Shinigami. No sign of him. _So screwed_, she thought in panic, _soooooo screwed_.

Sliding carelessly around a rock she took in the sight of the ladder and immediately launched herself onto it. Rapidly ascending, she barely heard the cry from Kiri for her to 'hold up.'

"KIRI MOVE YOUR ASS!" Arrow yelled back down towards her friend who, in spite of her fears of ladders, was rapidly climbing behind the dark haired girl. Reaching the top of the ladder she flipped up onto solid ground and felt her lungs collapse in horror. It was daybreak, signaling that the third day had begun.

The sounds of heavy panting soon met Arrow's ears as Kiri tiredly hauled herself up from the ladder and lay on the ground sprawled out in exhaustion.

"Let's just call it quits," she panted as she pushed herself onto her feet, "Too . . . much . . . work!" Arrow snorted in reply before grabbing Kiri's hand and dashing off towards the tall structure looming in the distance.

Back down in the cavern, an exhausted Ichigo and Renji turned around in the spring where they had been resting as they caught a bit of movement on the ladder.

"Was that . . . Arrow and Kiri?"

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Why are they in such a hurry? We've still got like five hours . . ."

* * *

><p>"Arrow we don't even have a plan!" Kiri hissed as she dodged rocks and attempted to keep in stride with her long legged friend. "What the hell are we suppose to do?"<p>

"For one," the other girl countered as she dodged underneath a tree branch and allowed it to smack Kiri in the face, "We're going to stop Aizen from taking the Hogyouku and therefore make it so Gin never has to betray him and get killed, and as for how we're going to do that, well looks like we're winging it!"

Jumping over a ledge both girls went tumbling downwards.

"Winging it?" Kiri yelped in disbelief as her feet landed on solid ground, "What the HELL do you mean we're winging it?"

"Shut up and come on! Who knows how much time we've wasted since we've been asleep." And with that Arrow's grasp on the shorter girl's sleeve released and the black haired girl shot off into the distance leaving a very disheveled blonde in the dust panting.

"OW! Shit! ARROW!" Kiri shouted after her friend, but she was long gone, completely unaware that the shorter girl was no longer with her. The shorter girl groaned and dusted herself off, casting an apprehensive glance at the ever-brightening glow on the eastern horizon.

"Rukia's execution is at noon . . . Well, I should be able to meet up with Arrow at some point, we're both going to the same place anyway." Keeping her eye on the prominent cliff and white tower in the center of Seireitei, the blond took off after her friend as fast as she could.

* * *

><p>Arrow skidded around yet another corner and groaned in frustration as she looked around her. Why did the people in Seireitei feel the need to surround all the streets with walls that made it impossible to see where you were going? While she'd been able to see the Sokyouko Hill perfectly from the training area, now she didn't know if she was going in even remotely the right direction.<p>

Growling in annoyance the girl bent forward and once again shot off down the corridor. She was bound to run into someone at some point in time right? Skidding around another corner Arrow almost yelped when she felt herself go flying backwards, landing unceremoniously on her ass. Whatever she had run into, it was hard and big. Cracking an eye open Arrow was met with a sight far more terrifying that she could have ever envisioned.

Kenpachi was a hell of a lot bigger in real life, and a lot freakier too. Looking at him in shock she barely noted the pink haired girl hanging on his left shoulder and the busty orange haired girl on his right.

"Well well what do we have here?" The Captain asked as he looked down on the grounded girl before him, "Just a little girl, hah. Weak. Move. I got places to be." At this Arrow bristled, who was just a little girl? Shooting up onto her feet, she felt a sharp retort sitting on edge of her tongue. She had never taken kindly to being addressed in such a manner, regardless of the situation or just how big and powerful the person insulting her was. She had never been renowned for her ability to keep her mouth shut or her temper in check anyway.

"Actually, jackass," Arrow said venomously as she straightened her shoulders and approached Kenpachi, her height compared to his obviously pitiful, "I think you're the one who's a little girl and who's in my way." And with all of her nerve she grabbed a fist full of his haori and shoved. As expected he didn't budge an inch.

An awkward silence followed.

"Oh shit…" Arrow muttered to herself as the full weight of her predicament settled in. She backed away from the massive man awkwardly and attempted to mutter an apology in the hopes that he might not kill her. Kenpachi on the other hand continued to stare at her like he'd never seen anything quite like her, which he probably hadn't.

"Zaraki-taicho! For heaven's sake, could you PLEASE not run so fast?" The girl breathed a sigh of relief as Ishida, Chad, Ganju, Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Asamaki jogged up next to the captain and bent over, panting.

The awkward silence however remained in the air and just when Arrow thought the tension around her was about to pop Kenpachi let out the most rough, obscene laugh anyone had ever heard. Lifting his heavy hand in the air he smacked Arrow on the shoulder, sending the girl flying forward, "I like yer style kid." He eyed her insanely. "Maybe we should fight sometime." At this Arrow shuddered slightly.

"No thanks," She murmured, casting her eyes in the direction of the confused looking companions that stood around the enormous man. Smiling awkwardly Arrow raised a single hand and sprawled out her fingers, "Hi there."

Everyone looked at her like she had just grown two heads and a tail; she resisted the urge to sigh.

"You're going to help Rukia Kuchiki escape execution," Arrow stated blatantly as she watched the shocked looks cross everyone's faces, "and I'm an ally of Ichigo's, so I'm at your service." Knowing it was a half truth considering her only interaction with the boy was a naked encounter in a hot spring she figured she might as well roll with the statement. In response to her comment Orihime's eyes widened.

"You know Kurosaki-kun?" Arrow let out an awkward cough.

"We had a slight run in the past." She resisted the urge to snort at herself.

The dark-haired girl watched with slight amusement as Ishida suddenly cringed at the new expression on Orihime's face. "OOH!" the younger girl yelped happily, "I bet you're a long lost second cousin of his who was kidnapped and taken away as a young child and then he came and rescued you but you knew you'd be pursued to the ends of the earth and in a fit of noble self-sacrifice you said farewell to him forever so he could live his life without worrying about being hunted!"

Ishida facepalmed as the ginger continued. "And now you're finally free of those who wish to do you harm, and so, knowing you had to repay him for his previous kindness to you you came to help him in return!" At the end of her rant the girl's eyes sparkled excitedly and she looked at Arrow expectantly.

"Yeah, that's exactly it. You got it." The older girl rolled her eyes at Ishida, who looked like he wanted to go bang his head against a wall, Chad, who as usual didn't seem to have much of a reaction other than sweatdropping, and Kenpachi, Yachiru, Ikkaku, Yumichika, Aramaki, and Ganju, who simply all looked extremely confused.

Turning on her heel Arrow began making her way down the corridor. "Well? Are you coming?" she called back, and with that she took off in a sprint.

Silence reigned for a moment before Kenpachi's frightening laughter filled the corridor.

"I really like this kid." Smirking he shot off towards the diminishing dot that was Arrow.

Being throw off guard by Kenpachi's sudden movement Orihime screamed in distress as she fought to regain her grip and Yachiru's laugh echoed throughout the corridor.

The others, still standing there in shock, could do nothing more than sweatdrop before taking off after the raging captain and random shinigami that Orihime had deemed as Ichigo's lost second cousin.

* * *

><p>As Kiri dashed along the ever-monotonous streets of Seireitei, she suddenly discovered that she had the exact same problem as her rapidly departing friend. "They all look the same . . ." she muttered to herself, casting another anxious glance at the eastern horizon. Stopping at the far wall of yet another dead end (why on earth were there so many of them?) she stared up at the roof of the wall. "If I could just get up there, I wouldn't have to worry about it." Leaning on the wall for a moment to catch her breath, the blond found herself thinking about their last conversation with Yoruichi before conversing with their sword spirits the final time.<p>

Kiri, out of curiosity, had asked about shunpo. Prepared for a long and completely non-sensical explanation from the werecat, she'd been surprised to find that it was actually incredible simple. Now that she knew the philosophy behind it, she wasn't as surprised that even Ichigo had figured it out on his own.

Gazing back up at the roof, she thought back to what the so-called Flash Goddess had told her. "It's very simple really. All you have to do is concentrate your reiatsu in your feet, and then use it to push off of. The extra pressure acts like a booster to let you move greater distances faster than any normal physical strength would allow. This is also how any reasonably trained Shinigami can stand in the air: by pushing back against gravity with their reiatsu."

Kiri scowled. "Concentrate my reiatsu in my feet . . . ." She really had no idea what she was doing, but decided to just go ahead and jump anyway.

Suddenly, she was on the roof.

Letting out a whoop of elated laughter, she looked around at the city which had previously been hidden from view, then shot off toward the white tower. She'd had no idea it was this easy to control reiatsu and make it do what she wanted. Smirking, she shouted into the air, although she knew her friend was nowhere near her, "Well maybe I can't punch people or chop things up very well, but at least I can do this!"

The blond promptly lost her concentration and went plummeting back to the street.

* * *

><p>Arrow followed quickly behind the captain of the eleventh division who was tearing down the corridor, the two figures on his back bouncing dangerously. Soon after the black haired girl had taken off on her own she had been overcome by Kenpachi who had, in his rush, almost crushed her and disappeared far ahead of her. Looking towards the men surrounding her Arrow was still caught off guard at just how close they were to their anime counterparts.<p>

"Woman," Ikkaku barked suddenly causing Arrow to raise a brow at him, "I've never seen you before, where the hell did you come from?" Arrow's eyes narrowed as she sent a dark glare towards the man for addressing her in such a matter.

"Why should I tell you pin ball?" She hissed as the group slid around a corner, hearing the protesting shouts of Orihime towards Yachiru echoing throughout the corridor.

"PIN BALL! I'LL KILL YOU!" Ikkaku yelled preparing to unsheathe his zanpakutou when Yumichika shook his head.

"Not now Ikkaku," Yumichika stated as he watched the woman who was running ahead of him, "Besides I have a feeling the Captain will want to fight her later on, and if she's dead she'll be no good to him." Ikkaku grunted in response.

"Why do you have a zanpakutou anyway? Only Shinigami are supposed to have them," He continued on, questioning her. "And if you don't answer I'll kick your ass." A spark of light reflected in her eyes as she shifted her footing slightly and slammed her elbow into Ikkaku, sending him spiraling into a building.

"As if." She hissed as she rolled her eyes and continued running down the corridor, ignoring the protests of the bald man behind her.

"You're mildly cruel," Yumichika noted raising an eyebrow, still running and having not stopped to help his fallen companion, "You should consider joining Squad 11 after this ordeal." The others in the group could do nothing more than observe and sweatdrop.

Arrow snorted in disdain and murmured under her breath, "Hopefully after this ordeal I'll be going back home."

For such a huge guy, Kenpachi sure could run fast. Arrow found herself panting as they finally drew close to a large and very familiar-looking courtyard.

Oh no . . . Arrow thought to herself, recognizing what was about to happen. I knew I shouldn't have gone along with these guys . . .

Kenpachi skidded to a stop facing the courtyard, clearly having no idea where he was, and a long and awkward silence enveloped the group, during which the tall girl cursed her luck under her breath.

As a fuming Yachiru still huddled on Kenpachi's shoulder, Ishida attempted to salvage the situation.

"Ah, well uh . . . how should I put it . . . Well, guiding though the streets is basically all luck anyway . . ."

Orihime caught on. "And it's not uncommon to come to a dead end ten or twenty times . . ."

Ikkaku, unfortunately, his pride still stung from Arrow's previous remark, made the mistake of mouthing off. "See? Look, I told you so. That's why I didn't wanna follow the Lieutenant!"

Arrow winced and facepalmed as, right on cue, Yachiru jumped on the third seat and began gnawing on his head. Ignoring the ensuing chaos, she took the opportunity to review what she knew of what was about to happen.

"Captain." Yumichika stated knowingly as he stepped up beside Kenpachi, his eyes fixed on the rooftops before them.

"Yeah," Kenpachi countered, "Freakin' sneakin' around . . . What a bunch o' scumbags."

"They'll be here soon," Arrow sighed, her fingers trailing across her blade as she stepped up on Kenpachi's other side, "shall we?"

Yumichika raised a finely trimmed eyebrow, "You can sense them?" Arrow nodded in confirmation. _My first battle against Shinigami_, she thought, her eyes trailing across the building tops waiting for the figures to appear, _let's begin_.

"Come out." Kenpachi suddenly ordered, his hand on his sheathed zanpakutou, "Turnin' off yer reiatsu and hidin' ain't what captains do, is it now?" The soft breeze suddenly grew in strength and shot upwards sending Arrow's ponytail flying and the pants of her uniform dancing.

"That is quite a mouth you have," A deep voice began, the reiatsu in the air growing thicker, "Do you understand what you are doing?" In a flash four figures landed on the building before them, staring down onto the group of Shinigami and Ryoka.

_Yep,_ Arrow thought, _absolutely screwed._


	11. Objective 11: Pretend You've Got A Clue

_**Author's Note: Yay for frequent updates! Things are finally starting to move along in the story which is making it EXTREMELY easier to write. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**_

Kiri breathed heavily as she dashed from rooftop to rooftop, relishing in her mastery of shunpo. She had discovered that as long as she had a specific spot in mind to go next, she wouldn't fall to the ground. The sun was high in the sky now, and although she wasn't sure exactly what time it was, she knew the window of opportunity for getting to the execution grounds was rapidly decreasing. "I hope Arrow's keeping track of time . . . we're probably both gonna die trying to face Aizen if we're together, but if she's not there when I get there I'm beyond toast."

Coming to yet another seemingly pointless courtyard (by this time Kiri had resolved to find out what idiot had designed this city and give them a severe talking to about logic) the blond descended to ground level and was about to continue on her way when she noticed a small group of clearly young Shinigami standing in a corner staring at her blatantly. There was an awkward pause.

"Ryoka!" One of them, a young man, shouted. His friends paused, hands on swords, clearly convinced there was no way they could beat Kiri from the stories they had heard of the other ryoka.

"Uhh . . ." the girl muttered, very aware of the seconds ticking past and not wanting to get involved in a battle. Jumping to the first situation that came to mind and doing what any self-respecting nerd would do, she waved her hand at the group, shouted in an impressive voice, "I am not the ryoka you're looking for!" and dashed off again, leaving the young Shinigami very confused, but at the same time grateful that they hadn't had to fight her.

* * *

><p>Based purely on instinct Arrow's hand came to rest on her sheathed zanpakutou as she observed the men standing before her. Her eyes traveled across the group as each name came into mind: Iba, Komamura, Tousen . . . Hisagi. She felt her eyes widen exponentially. Of course she was going to have to fight one of her favorite characters, she thought sourly.<p>

"Where are you running to with those ryoka?" Tousen inquired, his eyes hidden behind white frames. "In defeat, have you lost even your pride, Zaraki?" Watching the men intently Arrow paid little heed to Aramaki's blundering about who was present and felt her shoulders tighten as each second ticked past.

"Do not lose your head, Aramaki," Yumichika scolded, "We still have the advantage in numbers."

"This isn't an issue with numbers!" Aramaki hissed back, panic clearly written across his features. _He's unfortunately right_, Arrow thought grimly, her eyes continually trailing across the men who stood a hundred plus feet away from her.

"Quit wimperin'!" Kenpachi said, his face growing into a wide grin, "Who said I'd let you fight?" His attention shot towards the four men standing before him, "Four on one, huh? Not quite enough for a test cut, though."

Suddenly the four men on the roof shunpoed forward to stand mere feet in front of Arrow and the others. Seeing the enemy so close made Arrow's eyes narrow slightly as she shifted her feet into a defensive position ready for an attack to be dealt.

"Four on one you say?" Komamura questioned, soundly thoroughly annoyed at the antics of the Squad 11 Captain, "Are you saying you will face the four of us by yourself? I know of your power, but that is just a bit too arrogant, Zaraki Kenpachi!"

Kenpachi smirked in response, "Blah, blah, blah . . . shut up." Arrow felt a shiver run up her spine as the captain withdrew his wicked looking blade, "Just bring it on already! If you can, all four of you at once is better. If you surround me on four sides and attack at once, at least one of you might be able to cut me."

Aramaki timidly stepped forward before asking, "Uhmm . . . Zaraki-taicho . . . what should we . . ."

"You're in my way," Zaraki barked, swinging his blade backwards, "Disappear!" At this Aramaki slumped in his little corner of self pity before Yachiru called to everyone and set off racing down the corridor towards the execution grounds.

Sending one last glance towards the men Arrow turned on her heel and began racing with the others down the corridor. _Should I stay and fight_, she thought to herself watching Ikkaku and Yumichika knowing it would only before a few moments before they raced back towards their Captain, _or should I flee with the others? _

Watching Yumichika send Ikkaku a knowing glance, she found herself sighing at her own personality. _Looks like I'm going to fight_, she thought as she watched the two Shinigami turn and race back towards the courtyard. Skidding on her heels slightly Arrow ran after them, her mind racing in time with her feet. She hadn't spent hours working with her zanpakutou so she could run like a coward.

"Idiots, I'm tellin' you to come all four together!" she could hear Kenpachi comment dryly as she cleared the final distance between herself and the courtyard.

"I knew they'd say that! Freakin' posers . . ." Ikkaku taunted, his sword poised over his shoulder, having just run in front of his Captain.

"If that is the case, we too . . ." Yumichika confirmed, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"Gotta send us in, right, Captain?" Sliding into her position next to Ikkaku, Arrow smirked as all of the eyes in the courtyard fell on her, looking at her as though she had just grown two heads.

"I've never been one to back down from a good fight," she explained pulling her swords from their sheathes, "and if it grants the others a safe passage out I really don't mind kicking around garbage like you." Ikkaku and Yumichika watched her with wide eyes as she lowered herself into a fighting stance.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ikkaku hissed at Arrow, glaring at her in way that if looks could kill she would have died a hundred times over.

"What does it look like?" She commented back, "I'm going to fight. So shut your mouth pinball." Ikkaku's eyes narrowed into slits as he watched the gutsy woman prepare to jump forward and fight. The four others in the courtyard were paying little heed to the conversation between the two but instead focused on the Shinigami before them bearing dual blades.

"Impossible," Hisagi spluttered suddenly as he watched the woman before him experimentally swing her two zanpakutous, "You can't be a dual wielder, there are only two known in the thirteen court guard squads and they're both Captains-" his eyes widened suddenly as the pieces fell into place. "You're-!"

"Aye, I'm a ryoka," She said, her voice hiding any of the insecurity that was swimming beneath her skin, "and you are Shuuhei Hisagi, Lieutenant of the 9th division."

* * *

><p>Kiri froze and flailed momentarily as her momentum sent her skidding down a rooftop as a loud BOOM echoed throughout Seireitei. She thought for a minute. "It's still too early for them to be releasing the Sokyoku, so what could that be?" Panicking slightly, the girl rifled through her knowledge of Bleach. "Kenpachi. It has to be." She shot off again, this time in the direction of the explosions and shouting.<p>

Approaching the large courtyard, she slowed until she was able to crawl up the roof of a nearby building and peer over. Clearly she'd gotten there later than she'd thought, as Hisagi had already relocated to avoid Kenpachi. Yumichika seemed to be having a hard time of it. Peering closer, Kiri did a double-take.

Hisagi wasn't fighting Yumichika.

He was fighting _Arrow_.

The blond could almost feel her jaw hit the ground as she watched her friend duck and weave around the Lieutenant's scythes. "You have got to be kidding me . . ."

Arrow dodged Hisagi's blades once again and laughed. "Come on! You have to be faster than that-! SHIT!" she yelped as the man struck again.

And then it happened.

Arrow used shunpo.

Or rather she tried to. Kiri watched as her friend crouched and concentrated her power to move as quickly as possible . . . then promptly slammed straight into a nearby wall.

The blond, absolutely dying of laughter and hanging on to the roof tiles for dear life as she rolled around, managed to shout to her dazed friend, "You idiot! You have to know where you're going before you can get there!" The dark haired girl looked at her blearily as Hisagi stood blankly in the middle of the small courtyard looking as though he couldn't believe he was fighting such an idiot.

"And what do you think you're doing? WHY THE HELL ARE YOU FIGHTING HISAGI? You'll screw up the whole plotline at this rate! Where the hell is Yumichika?"

Arrow shook her head a bit from her grounded position to clear it, immediately regretting the action as the ringing in her ears got worse. "Ugh shut up Kiri you're not helping! And I don't really know . . . it just sort of happened . . ."

Kiri resisted the urge to bang her head against the tiles beneath her.

* * *

><p>"DAMN SHUNPO!" Arrow yelled as she rolled onto her stomach, willing the world around her to cease its endless spinning. She really was just no good at controlling her reiatsu.<p>

While shaking her head to try and to clear her head of the ringing noise once again she heard the tell-tale sound of a blade slicing through air. Shooting back up onto her feet she threw her blades up in a defensive position as a scythe hit them with a sickening crunch. Stumbling slightly from the dizziness of her shunpo accident Arrow managed to maintain her balance and throw the blade backwards.

In all honesty she wasn't quite sure what was running through her head when she jumped Hisagi and began to battle it out. Maybe it had just been the heat of the moment, or just her own stupidity, either way she knew she was in knee deep and sinking quick.

Flipping backwards to avoid another attack from the menacing scythes Arrow landed softly on her knees. Watching the man before her swing his weapon, Arrow couldn't help but let her eyes roam slightly over his well built form. He sure lived up to standards that the manga had portrayed for him.

_Focus_, Arrow chided herself, _don't pull a Kiri_.

"Why haven't you called your zanpakutous forth?" Hisagi questioned, watching the insane woman before him carefully. Fighting her, he was well aware that the woman was physically strong and possessed great agility and speed but after her shunpo . . . incident he wasn't quite sure what to make of her.

"I don't need them," she called back, her black ponytail swishing with her dodging motions. Running towards Hisagi she watched as he released Kazeshini towards her, flipping she managed to barely slip under the lieutenant's flying weapon and slide close enough to him to land a solid kick to his abdomen.

Taken aback by the woman's force the young man was sent flying across the courtyard and landed with an unceremonious 'thump'. Pushing himself off the ground he watched the tall woman swinging her swords in a circular motion.

"We do not have to fight," Arrow commented slowly, closing the distance between herself and the fallen man, "I'm not your true enemy." Sighing internally the girl hoped that the Shinigami would listen to reason and they could both leave the battle semi-unscathed, more so herself than him. However her hopes were shot to hell as the chain that connected Hisagi's zanpakutou came forward and wrapped around her wrist. Pulling the chain suddenly he sent Arrow spiraling towards the ground, earning her a mouthful of sand.

"We are enemies," Hisagi stated coldly pulling the chain around the woman's wrist tighter, "You infiltrated the Sereitei and killed one of our Captains, justice must be given."

"Fool," Arrow hissed, latching her foot on the lieutenant's chain she forced all of her strength into her legs before rolling and sending the man spiraling once more. "You're such a kiss ass."

Hisagi grunted in disbelief and offense as he pulled on the chain once more, trying to pull Arrow towards him. Digging her heels into the ground she pulled back against the chains, doing her best not to fall flat on her face. A game of tug-o-war ensued for a good five minutes before Arrow finally grew tired of the mindless playing. Pulling straight down on the chains Arrow threw herself to the ground towards her discarded swords. Quickly grabbing one in her palm she rolled onto her back before raising the sword slightly.

"Chingin no sensō, unmei no arashi Nikusu!" The sword in Arrow's hand suddenly began to glow a vibrant purple before a brilliant light flashed, revealing its true form. Its katana frame was exchanged for that of curved longsword, its edge was wicked sharp and its color the blackest of blacks. The handle was split so that guard sat over Arrow's hand and down its body and handle vines of silver were spun with the deep insets of amethyst and Celtic runes that adorned the blade.

_About time you called me_, Arrow heard Nikusu say in the far corner of her mind, _Allow me_. Feeling power surge through her body, Arrow broke the chain holding Kazeshini together before shooting off towards Hisagi. Raising her blade up she brought it down for a powerful strike that left Hisagi stumbling slightly.

Said Lieutenant felt his eyes widen when he felt the pure power coming off of the zanpakutou and its wielder. _Impossible_, he thought as he parried another attack, this time knocking Hisagi backwards. _Why am I feeling weaker?_ He thought suddenly as he tried to stand and felt fatigue over come him. _This couldn't be her power! Could it? _

Arrow's sword came down once again, absorbing the power from Kazeshini and storing it within Nikusu. They parried a few more times before Arrow felt the power pulsating beneath her palm and throughout her sword. Here goes nothing, she thought pulling Nikusu back.

"Tamashī kudake chiru!" Throwing the blade forward she watched in amazement as the sheer force and power of the attack sent purple reiatsu tumbling in all directions and shattered Kazeshini as well as knocking Hisagi backwards and onto the ground.

_It worked_, Arrow thought dumbly, watching the now unconscious man before her, _It actually worked!_ Throwing her hands up to celebrate Arrow felt a burning pain shoot through her left side. Letting out a pained hiss she slid to her knees, her hands blindly fumbling for the sharp stinging. Pulling her palms away she noted that they were stained with dark blood. _Peachy_, she thought sarcastically, _now where the hell did Kiri go?_

* * *

><p>Sliding down the roof away from Arrow, Kiri decided to see how everyone else was doing. Ikkaku was easily beating Iba to a pulp, while Yumichika cheered him on, since Arrow had stolen his opponent. Kenpachi on the other hand was simply standing in the middle of the large courtyard looking very bored as Tousen lectured him about justice.<p>

Kiri made herself comfortable on the roof and watched the scene play out. Really, she reflected, it was extremely odd to be watching your favorite anime in real life. It created an unsettling sense of displacement.

Tousen was walking toward Kenpachi very slowly while twirling his sword for no apparent reason, just as Kiri remembered.

"If you hate me so much, why don't you cut me with your bankai!" the spikey-haired captain taunted.

"No, I'm not saying that I hate you." Tousen caught his sword in midair. "I'm saying I cannot forgive you! For everything you've said and done to disrupt the peace. I have no grudge, but in order to preserve the peace, I must eliminate you." Komamura jumped clear as he spun the wheel on his zanpakutou. "Bankai. Suzumushitsuishiki-Enmakourogi."

Suddenly Kiri realized her mistake. She was way too close to Tousen. Her eyes widened as she realized what would happen and she scrambled up from the roof in a panic.

The blond had a split-second view of the city before everything went dark.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_

_**Chingin no sensō, unmei no arashi Nikusu- Wage War tempest of fate, Nikusu**_

_**Tamashī kudake chiru- Soul Shatter**_


	12. Christmas Special:Aizen vs Reindeer

_**Author's Note: **_

_**Arrow: Merry Christmas!  
>Kiri: *dashes up with a mangled piece of paper in her hand* Arrow! I just went to the bathroom and had the most brilliant idea!<br>Arrow: *shoots Kiri a questioning look* Why the hell do you have an idea written on a piece of toilet paper? -_-'''  
>Kiri:*embarrassed* Well, you know, I tend to get my best ideas in there . . .<br>Arrow: *Facepalm* No wonder you got caught in Tousen's trap.  
>Kiri: We agreed not to talk about that, Miss Shunpoed-Into-A-Wall.<br>Arrow: Tch, atleast I won my fight.  
>Kiri: Arrow, SHH! That's a spoiler!<br>Arrow: *rolls eyes* Right...anyway! May we present to you our christmas special to show our immense love for Aizen-taicho  
>Kiri: Please note when reading this that when the co-writer came up with the idea she was very cold, sleep-deprived, and hyper.<br>Arrow:*slaps Kiri*  
><strong>_

_**End author's note**_

_**Kiri: No, it's not over yet! *staggers back up* This is dedicated to our faithful reviewers and fan Aisuru Tsukino!**_

_**Arrow: *whacks Kiri back down* Seriously, thank you for letting the author's know they're not completely wasting their time on writing something so pointless.**_

**_Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach this would totally be in a filler episode. XD_**

Aizen got run over by a reindeer,

Walking to the palace Christmas Eve.

You can say there's no such thing as Santa,

But as for me and Arrow we believe.

He'd been drinking too much Earl Grey,

The caffeine went to his head.

He started singing Justin Beiber,

And Szayel had forgot to bring his meds.

Gin had found him Christmas morning,

Sprawled out trampled in the sand,

There were hoofprints on his forehead,

Telling that Santa'd finally made his stand.

Aizen got run over by a reindeer,

Walking to the palace Christmas Eve.

You can say there's no such thing as Santa,

But as for me and Arrow we believe.

Now we're all so proud of Tousen,

He has been so very nice.

See him in there, he's so cheerful,

Building a house of cards with Wonderweiss.

It's such a Christmas without Aizen,

Hollows partying without slack,

Now we all can't help but wonder,

Should we just give up or should we still attack?

Aizen got run over by a reindeer,

Walking to the palace Christmas Eve.

You can say there's no such thing as Santa,

But as for me and Arrow we believe.

Now Stark is passed out on the table,

Grimmjowl's cursing as he cooks,

Tia's stripping in the kitchen,

And Ulquiorra's sending her dirty looks.

I've told all the Shinigami,

They should be ashamed of themselves.

Their greatest enemy was defeated,

By a man who drives a sleigh and plays with elves.

Aizen got run over by a reindeer,

Walking to the palace Christmas Eve.

You can say there's no such thing as Santa,

But as for me and Arrow we believe.


	13. Objective 13: To Die or Not to Die?

_**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update! Blame the co-writer and her inability to write this battle in a timely fashion *glances towards cowriter* Anyway, please do enjoy this chapter! ALSO a big thanks to aisurutsukino for her help in the writing of the battle.**_

_**Disclaimer: If I owned Bleach Aizen would have soo been taken out by Santa.**_

* * *

><p>The first thing Kiri noticed, even more so than the utter blackness, was how completely silent it was. She suspected that to any other Shinigami the lack of the presence of reiatsu would have been most unnerving, but since she was new at sensing it anyway that didn't bother her. The lack of sight didn't bother her so much either, as she naturally enjoyed dark and usually preferred it to light anyway. But the utter silence . . . <em>It's like going outside at midnight in the middle of winter,<em> she reflected, _It's so quiet your brain invents sounds for you to hear and eventually you can't tell if they're real or in your head or if you even heard anything at all._

The girl was very thankful she still retained her sense of touch. Knowing she was still on the roof, she felt her way to the edge and very carefully lowered herself over it, letting go to hit the paved courtyard. It was so odd to know that you had made a sound and yet not hear it . . . _This must be what it's like to be deaf,_ she thought.

Suddenly Kiri felt the brief wind of a sword slicing toward her and ducked out of the way at the last second. _Oh yeah, that's right, _I _can't hear anything, but Tousen still can . . . he must have heard me fall and thought I was Kenpachi. _Feeling her way along the wall beside her, she got out of the line of fire was quickly and what she hoped was as quietly as she could. Sliding down the stone to sit on the pavement, she considered her situation. _I could always just wait it out,_ she thought to herself, _I mean, I already know Kenpachi's going to beat Tousen so I could just sit here and wait._

_But why?_ A small part of her asked. _Isn't this a perfect opportunity to test my new skills?_ Kiri frowned. It was risky, she knew that. But Arrow was out there risking her life fighting Hisagi, and the blond was tired of being "the useless one." On a more practical note, if she could help Kenpachi beat Tousen more quickly they would be able to get to the execution grounds faster and possibly give her and Arrow a better chance at getting Gin away from Aizen.

_Are you done debating, Kierra?_

Kiri jumped at the sudden voice after so much silence, then realized who it was. _Will you help me, Shiko no Tora? I don't really understand what to do. _

_Of course. You will never get stronger if you do not fight. _

_Yeah, well, I don't really want to die either._

_I will not let you. Remember, if you die, I die. Now, find the blind man's consciousness as you found mine in the test._

_I can't!_ Kiri protested. _You can't feel reiatsu in here, remember?_

The spirit sighed. _Very well, I will help you, but only once. You are not supposed to use this yet. You are not ready. I will give you one chance, but you may never use this ability again until you become more powerful._

_All right. What do I do?_

_Release me. But do it _quietly, _he can still hear, remember. I'll see what I can do after that._

Kiri concentrated her reiatsu into her sword. _This is so weird . . ._ Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Sakusei, Shiko no Tora."

There was a surge of power from her sword, and suddenly Kiri could easily feel the two captains' minds. _Whoa! How'd you do that?_

_Hurry and find him! Like I said, I'm giving you one chance; your shikai cannot normally do this. I will require you to become far stronger than you are before you may use this ability at will._

Giving Kenpachi a wide berth (she really didn't want to know what was going on in that psychotic head of his) she threw her thought-spear toward the other man. To her amazement, the shield around his mind shattered at her slightest touch, and, wondering what was wrong she withdrew to her own mind before he could notice her presence.

_What happened?_

She felt the cold amusement in her spirit. _He has had no training. This should be far easier than I thought. _

Approaching Tousen more cautiously this time, Kiri paused a moment, then entered his mind fully. Reveling in the sense of control it gave her, she told him in no more than a mental whisper, _Clearly, since Aizen knew you could not be affected by his Kyouka Suigetsu, he did not feel it was necessary to give you any training. Such a pity._ Back leaning against the wall, Kiri smirked. _I'd better make sure I don't use this power too much. It could turn me into a horrible person._

She could feel the sudden panic running through his usually calm mind. "Who are you? WHERE are you? What do you know about Aizen?"

The blond chuckled to herself and decided to press her advantage and be over-dramatic. _I know far more than even you know. I know that Aizen is the leader of your little gang, I know he murdered Central 46 and faked his own death. I know he wants the Hogyoku hidden within Rukia Kuchiki. _Searching her mind for something else to say, she told him, _And I know _you, _Kaname Tousen._

Kiri couldn't help but snort at herself. _Arrow would be laughing her ass off if she heard how over-dramatic I'm being . . . ah what the hell. It's not like Tousen knows me._

Tentatively reaching for Kenpachi's mind, she noticed he just seemed rather confused as to why Tousen wasn't attacking. _Idiot._ The blond mentally poked him. _Oi, he's standing about five feet in front of you. _

The girl felt him do a double-take. _Who the hell're . . . oh, who cares._ He lunged forward and chopped madly at Tousen, who dodged frantically but still received a small slash from the battle-obsessed captain. _You were right! How the hell didja know that?_

_It's not important. Just keep attacking him! If you can touch his sword you'll be able to see and hear again._ Kiri stood up quietly and backed against the wall.

_What are you doing?_ asked Shiko no Tora.

_I wanna try something! _She replied gleefully, raising her hands the way Yoruichi had shown her and began whispering. "Disintegrate, black dog-"

The sword pulsed a little. _No! You idiot! He'll hear-_

"of Rondanini-AHH!" The girl jerked away as Tousen's blade slashed through the muscle on her left arm. "OW! Shit!" Curling up in a ball and holding the cut, she called to Kenpachi, _Get him! He's about twenty feet to your left!_ Biting her lip and edging away as Kenpachi lunged, she winced. _WOW sword cuts really hurt..._

Kiri closed her eyes and waited. _Kenny's just gonna have to handle the rest,_ she thought. _I'm done._

_That's what you get for talking! I knew you weren't ready for this._ The sword spirit sounded rather annoyed.

_Shut up. _

Light and sound suddenly assaulted Kiri's senses as Tousen's bankai dissolved. The cut to her arm wasn't very deep, but it certainly stung. Right now she didn't really care about getting to the Soukyouko hill, she'd have been perfectly happy to lay on the pavement in the middle of the courtyard for the rest of the day.

She knew Kenpachi would be finishing dealing with Tousen and Komamura nearby, but she hardly registered it. "If this is what fighting in Bleach is like," she muttered, "I don't wanna do any more than I absolutely have to. WHY the hell did I decide it'd be a good idea to jump into that?"

Pushing herself to her feet Kiri glanced around looking for a mass of black hair. She soon found her target rushing towards her across the courtyard, favoring her left side.

"Kiri!" Arrow yelled as she closed the distance between them, "What the hell were you thinking getting in the middle of that?" She pushed loose strands of hair from her face before hissing slightly and grabbing her side tighter with her right hand, "Nevermind that. Are you okay?"

Kiri's eyes traveled towards the source of her friend's pain and widened.

"Am I okay? I've a slight slash in my arm but that," she pointed an accusing finger at Arrow's side, "is not acceptable! How retarded can you be?"

"You're one to talk," Arrow muttered as she noted the blood staining her friends palms, "Whatever, we've got no time to bicker. We need to go. We'll patch ourselves up later."

"Nuhuh not until we fix that," The blonde glared at her friend's wound, blood trailing profusely down her side, "I wish I knew healing kido . . . but I could only cram so much. Plus Yoruichi said it was really hard. Uh, you're better at medical stuff than me. Can you at least tell me how to wrap it?"

A few minutes later the two had patched each other up as best as possible and Kiri was now panicking about the time. "Arrow we've wasted too much time . . ."

Arrow sent a pointed glare towards the girl, "You're the one that wanted to get patched up first."

Kiri snorted, "Yes because I totally wanted to watch you bleed to death." Rolling her eyes Kiri stretched her arms upward and hissed as pain shot through her arm, "I never EVER want to do this again."

Arrow, having seemingly tuned her friend out moments before was looking towards the execution ground. "We've got to move." She sprinted off.

"Hey wait!" Kiri tried to quickly shunpo after but found herself on the ground after the attempt. _Shit, _she thought _no reiatsu left_. Pushing her fatigued body off the ground she began to quickly trail after the dot known as her friend that was fading in the distance.

_With so little spiritual power how are we going to do this_?

A few minutes later, just as Kiri was finally catching up to Arrow, the two were hit with a massive bolt of power.

"SHIT!" the dark-haired girl yelled. "That's the Sokyouku! We're really late!"

"Then run faster!" gasped Kiri, wincing as she gripped her throbbing arm. "We still . . . have all those . . . stairs to climb . . ."

"Almost there . . . almost there . . ." Arrow repeated to herself as she pushed forward, trying to ignore the immense pain in her side.

"Why . . . are these stairs . . . so long?" Kiri was now pulling herself up along the cliffside. "Can't . . . they have . . . an elevator . . . or something?"

Breaking the top of the stairs both girls began bolting towards the tree line where they were met with the sight of Ishida and Co.

Looking up at the noise Orihime's eyes widened. "Ichigo's long lost cousin!" she yelled in shock, as she reach out uselessly towards the sprinting girl.

Arrow paid her little heed as she and Kiri bolted passed, the only thought on her mind, "get to Gin get to Gin . . ." Hitting the tree line, Arrow forced her legs to move faster than ever before as she closed the distance between herself and the immense looming structure before her.

The two burst from the trees and skidded to a stop as they took in the scene before them. Renji lay collapsed on the ground, unconscious, along with Komamura, as Ichigo struggled to remain coherent. Rukia was suspended a few feet over the ground, Aizen's hand in her chest as he grasped the Hogyouku hidden within her. He turned toward the girls as they stopped, gasping.

"Ah." The former captain smiled. "It seems the last two guests have finally arrived."

Arrow's eyes narrowed as she quickly closed the distance between herself and the soon to be ex-captain. Sliding to a stop she immediately withdrew her swords and dropped into a defensive stance, Kiri quickly following suit by raising her hands in preparation for a Kido incantation.

"Enough Aizen," Arrow growled brandishing her blade, "You will not take the Hogyouku." At this Aizen chuckled humorlessly before turning back towards the black haired girl.

"My dear Arilyn you speak so proudly." At this Arrow's eyes widened, "Surprised that I knew your name? How do you think you slipped into the Soul Society?"

Kiri rolled her eyes. Of course he knew they were there. He was Aizen. He knew everything. Clearing her throat, she shouted in what she hoped was an impressive voice, "Well, since you already know we're here, you must know that we've got to stop you from betraying Soul Society_." No need to tell him we're actually just here for Gin_, she reflected, _in case he doesn't already know that._

"Kierra. Surely you, as a seer, know that is impossible. Now, enough time has been wasted." He withdrew his hand from Rukia, letting her collapse.

"Not on my watch." Arrow hissed before pushing off of her foot and shooting towards Aizen, her eyes narrowed.

"ARROW!" Kiri yelled in panic as she watched her call forth Nikusu.

"Chingin no sensō, unmei no arashi Nikusu! Tamashī kudake chiru!" Kiri watched in horror as Arrow's blade tore through thin air where Aizen had been mere moments before. Aizen smirked and before Arrow could react threw a hand out jabbing it straight into the wounded girls side. Upon the impact the girl's eyes widened as a small trail of blood slid past her lips and she tumbled toward the ground.

_You idiot!_ Kiri thought as she pulled her hands up ready to send a kido spell.

_This is so not going to work,_ Kiri inwardly noted as she struggled to remember the incantation Yoruichi had taught her, _Even if I knew the spell by heart I don't have enough reiatsu . . ._

"Uhh . . . Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings . . . ye who bears the name of Man! Uhm . . . I think . . . Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams . . . un-unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws!" The blond winced as a bolt of energy left her palms and flew rather lethargically toward the ex-captain, where it bounced off and fell the ground, sparking a few times before fizzling out.

"We're screwed." Kiri's hands dropped from their stance down by her sides.

Before Kiri could blink Aizen was right in front of her smiling eerily at her. "I do hope to see you soon Kierra, so please refrain from dying." And with that his fist flew forward and dug into her rib cage ripping the air from her lungs and sending her tumbling backwards. Startled at the pain Kiri could do nothing but squeak before collapsing forward onto her knees. _Well damn_, she thought as she shot a desperate look towards Gin, _we couldn't have failed that easily, could we?_


	14. Objective 14:Memories & Battle Hangovers

_**Author's Note : It's been a long period since theres been an update thanks to Science Competition, College, and general procrastination. However here is the new Chapter, so hope you enjoy! ^^**_

Her eyes fading in and out of focus, Kiri struggled to remain at least on her knees. Staring blearily upward, a random thought suddenly entered her mind and she resisted the urge to giggle uncontrollably. _Wow, I never thought I'd be forced to kneel before Aizen, of all people . . . Heh, he's not even supposed to exist!_ Coughing weakly, she fell to the side and caught sight of Arrow where Aizen had knocked her. Her wound had reopened. _Crap . . ._

The blonde dimly registered the ex-captain picking up Rukia's limp body. "I have no use for her anymore. Gin, kill her."

Though she knew that Rukia didn't actually die, she still closed her eyes as Gin released his sword_. I'd forgotten how much I hated him at the beginning of the series . . ._ She heard a scuffle, then winced again as she heard the captain's sword hit flesh. _Aaaand that would be Byakuya. _Rukia's protests echoed dimly in her confused mind as her brother slumped to the ground, then Kiri gritted her teeth again as the ground shook. Kukaku and Jidanbo had arrived, along with Yoruichi and Soi Fon.

The girl sighed and tried to relax her bruised muscles as scuffles broke out, her eyes still on her collapsed friend. Arrow didn't look like she was in mortal danger, although her wound was still bleeding sluggishly and she looked as though she wouldn't regain consciousness anytime soon. Though Kiri didn't really have the strength to go over to her anyway. _I'm just going to lay here and hope no one steps on me . . ._

"Don't move!"

". . . Sorry, Aizen-taicho. I got caught."

Kiri gasped and opened her eyes. She knew those lines perfectly, having sadly rewatched that particular scene many times. _No . . . if I could just get to him, maybe I could get him away . . ._ She inched forward, then slumped again, gasping. _Nope, not an option. I guess there's probably too many people here anyway. _The reiatsu in the air thickened as the rest of the captains arrived on the scene. _Any time now . . . _

"What's so funny?" Yoruichi hissed at Aizen, her blade poised dangerously close to the third division Captains throat.

"Oh, sorry. It's time." Aizen stated simply.

Yoruichi gasped. "Get away from him, Soi Fon!"

Kiri turned just in time to see the column of light envelop Aizen. She had to admit, looking at the shock on everyone else's faces, knowing what was going to happen really took away from the drama of it all. The blonde looked away from Aizen just in time to see the light hit Gin as well.

"Crap . . ."

Turning her head quickly and immediately regretting the action as pain shot through her body, Kiri looked next to her. She heard a deep moan echo from the collapsed body of Arrow before the sound faded into what sounded distinctly like a curse word. _Yeah . . . she's fine, _she thought in sarcasm_. _She watched as her dark-haired friend pushed herself onto her knees, panting heavily and drenched in sweat. Pushing her palms flat against the ground Arrow attempted to push herself into a standing position which only earned her a gasp of pain as she slid back on her knees, her hand pressed against her bleeding wound.

"I've got to….get to…him." Arrow hissed between her ragged breaths, her green eyes dull as she watched the scene before her.

"Arrow, stop," Kiri gasped. "There's . . . nothing we can do now. We can't . . . ow . . . touch them once they're in the beam. We'll get him some other time."

"Fuck . . ." the dark-haired girl murmured, slumping forward onto the ground, her nails digging into the dirt. Kiri turned her waning attention back to the ex-captain.

"It's a bit of a let-down . . ." he said, quietly. "I wouldn't have minded being your prisoner a little longer." His usual smile faded. "Goodbye, Rangiku . . . I'm sorry."

Kiri closed her eyes for the last time as the chunks of ground the captains were standing on lifted off. _Don't worry, Gin . . . we'll bring you back. Alive._

The blonde happily slipped into blackness, hoping that she might hurt less when she woke up.

* * *

><p>To say Arrow was upset was an understatement, a rather large one at that. The sheer number of curse words and insults racing throughout her mind in those few moments as Aizen lifted towards the sky was astounding, as was her sudden urge to stab said Captain several hundred times.<p>

Trying to remain conscious even with the extreme pain rushing through her body Arrow managed to glance upwards just in time to see Aizen slick his hair back and shatter his glasses._ Irritating self-centered creepy-ass bastard . . ._

Allowing her head to drop back towards the ground, Arrow felt her stomach lurch and had to use all of her will power not to puke. Several minutes passed in a blur before she finally regained her composure enough to look towards Kiri. The other girl looked worse for wear but would heal with some rest and time. Arrow felt relief rush through her system, _Thank god at least you're okay._

"ARROW!" Snapping her head upwards she was met with the sight of Ganju rushing towards her, "YO! Are you all right?"

Opening her mouth to respond Arrow found her airway suddenly restricted as she started coughing. As the spell ended she pulled her hand away from her mouth to see that it was coated in a thick sticky red substance. _That can't be good…_  
>"I'm fine." Pushing herself up onto her knees she looked towards her blonde companion. "Get someone to tend to her first, I'll manage." Ganju looked far from convinced.<p>

"Arrow I'm not so sure about-" Arrow narrowed her eyes at the man before grabbing the front of his shirt.

"I said I'm fine, now find someone to tend to her first knucklehead!" Smacking him on top of the head, Arrow watched as the Shiba man fell back on his butt, his eyes widened in shock. Seeing the strange ryoka girl act like his sister was not good for the poor man's health to say the least.

"Y-yes ma'am!" Stumbling to his feet he shot off towards the crowd of medical Shinigami that had gathered.

"Oh my head…" Arrow bent forward holding her head in her hands_. I failed, _she thought solemnly as she clenched her eyes shut willing the light away from her already aching retinas, _I'm really starting to think I'm an expert at being a failure._

"Ma'am!" A young shinigami from squad four stumbled up to her, looking slightly terrified. "Really ma'am, you have got to let us heal you, that wound in your side is losing too much blood-" The girl squeaked as Arrow glared at her.

"I already told the dumbass over there," She pointed her finger accusingly in Ganju's direction, " I don't need help! Have you gotten anyone to see to Kiri yet?" She looked around distractedly until she caught sight of medics around her friend. "Good. Now will you people leave me the hell alone?" Stumbling to her feet, she took a few unsteady steps forward.

The poor girl who had been dispatched to help her yelped. "Please don't-"

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" a voice shouted behind her. Arrow didn't even bother looking over her shoulder as she ignored the question and continued attempting to walk. _Damn cut . . . No wonder they're always out for the count after they get hit…Okay lungs, work with me here. _Arrow suddenly felt the world swirl around her as she began falling backwards. Fortunately instead of meeting the ground she found herself slumped in the third seat's arms.

"Whoa," Things were starting to blur around the edges of Arrow's vision. "I don't think the world's supposed to spin like this . . ."

"Damn you stubborn people . . . I've got enough problems here without you making things difficult . . ." Iemura muttered to himself before gently laying the girl gently on the ground. "You stay put." Looking rather harried he told the girl "Take care of her," before taking off to oversee the rest of the operation.

Arrow hadn't thought it was possible for the world to spin so much, apparently she was wrong. Dancing on the border of consciousness she found herself lost in a flurry of blurred images and a buzzing noise. She could hear voices murmuring in the background and what sounded like worried shouts near her ear, but that didn't really matter. What mattered was the lock of brown hair that kept dancing in her vision. _Brown hair, brown hair . . . Lizzie._

_"She didn't make it . . . I'm sorry." White room, sterile stench._

"Miss? Miss! Hey!"

_Why didn't you save her? Oh that right, cause you're too weak, senseless, and useless to do so…._

_"This is all your fault!"_

". . . the wound's healed but she's not coming to! What should . . ."

_My fault . . . my blame . . . my mistake . . . my sin . . . my burden . . ._

_It should have been raining that day but the damn sun was out, taunting, how irritating . . ._

_Why is_ he _here? Anger, frustration, sadness . . ._

_Darkness._

_You can't protect anyone! What do you think you're doing trying to save that man? You're just going to fail!_

_My own worst enemy . . ._

_Shut up . . . Just SHUT UP!  
><em>

* * *

><p>Arrow shot up gasping, her face drenched in sweat. Panting, she took in the world around her. Pale walls, a bed, sterile smell . . . PAIN. Hissing, Arrow flopped back down on the bed and curled up on her side. Breathing deeply for a few moments she sorted through the memories in her head, trying to place where she was.<p>

Her eyes flew open again. Aizen, battle, wound, Kiri . . . Lifting her head up she searched the room in panic until her eyes landed on a still figure sprawled out in the bed beside her, snoring quite loudly and looking to be in good health and perfectly content. Sighing in relief, Arrow allowed her head to hit the pillow beneath her.

_It was just a dream, nothing more_, she chided herself as she lay there taking in her surroundings. As the pieces came together only one likely explanation came to mind: they were in the 4th division.

"Ughh . . ." Arrow sat up, more slowly this time, and felt her side. It was still quite tender and the bandages were fresh, but the wound didn't seem to be open anymore. She wondered how long she'd been unconscious.

"No, Rukia . . . Ishida's working at the gas station . . . you don't need to help . . ."

The black-haired girl raised an eyebrow and looked over at Kiri on the bed next to hers as the girl murmured and turned over. Leave it to Kiri to have weird anime dreams even when they were already in an anime . . .

Sighing, Arrow pulled off her sheets and gingerly sat on the edge of her bed. Sunlight was streaming through the few windows in the room so she guessed it was late morning, although she had no idea what day it was or how long it had been since Aizen's betrayal. The other beds in the ward appeared to be empty though. Arrow pushed off the bed, stood carefully and limped over to her friend.

"Yo, blondie, wake up." Arrow poked her sharply. She watched her friends face scrunch up.

"I am awake," the blonde replied before turning away from Arrow and nestling more deeply into her bed.

Arrow rolled her eyes, her temperament short. "No you're not."

"I'll be down in a bit!" Kiri shouted, surprisingly loudly. Arrow jumped back in surprise.

"There's not even any stairs here, what the hell are you talking about?" Arrow pointed out, her eyes glaring holes in Kiri's back.

"I just need to put my shoes on! Be right there!" Kiri rolled over again and snuggled into her pillow.

"Kiri! You're not at your house, and I sure as hell am not your mother!" Arrow shoved Kiri, shaking her, "We're in Squad Four! Now GET UP!" she screeched in the blonde girl's ear.

"OW!" Kiri sat up. "That hurt! What the heck is your problem! Gods!" Sitting up Kiri grumbled as she rubbed her eyes like a little kid before looking up towards Arrow.

"What the he-?" Kiri's eyes widened as everything suddenly came back to her. Launching herself off the bed she knocked Arrow to the floor.

"Your wound! Are you okay?" Kiri quickly looked over her friend, her hands flying rapidly around her.

"Yes, dumbass, now get off!" Throwing Kiri to the side Arrow stood up grumbling her side protesting with the movement. _This morning just seems to be getting better and better_, Arrow thought sarcastically as the memories of the dream were still prominent in her mind.

"It's not my fault you decided to run off and fight a LIEUTENANT in your infinite wisdom," Kiri stated, her arms crossed over her chest and her tongue sticking out childishly as she sat with her legs sprawled out on the floor.

"Oh would you shut up already?" Arrow grumbled as she made her way over to her bed and began looking around it, "I've already got a hell of a migraine without your assistance." After several moments of looking she came across her bag, sighing in relief she began digging out clothing. Upon her trip to the floor she had come to realize she was wearing an extremely short yukata and was determined to fix said issue.

"Hey Arrow," Kiri called, having removed herself from the floor and was sitting on her own bed, "Guess what?" Her head rested in her hand that was propped up on her cross knees, and Arrow felt the sudden urge to throw a pillow at her.

"What Kiri?" Arrow called back as she pulled a pair of jeans free from her bag. The black haired girl duly noted that her companion looked like a bird who had just gotten its feathers ruffled with the way her hair stuck up, she would have laughed had her head not been pounding.

"Your ass is hanging out of your gown." A tic mark suddenly appeared on Arrow's forehead. "You know maybe if it wasn't so big you wouldn't have that-" Before Kiri could finish her sentence Arrow had tackled her to her bed and was attempting to smother her with a pillow.

"AHHHH RAPEEEE!" Kiri squealed as she tried to shove the bigger girl off of her, failing miserably as the larger girl just seemed to try and suffocate her harder. After she realized that wasn't working she switched from suffocation to maiming.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" With each command Arrow bopped Kiri in the head with the pillow till finally the pillow busted open and feathers flew everywhere. Arrow sat on top of Kiri a dumb look of confusion on her face as she looked at the end of the busted pillow as though her favorite toy had just broken.

"Well now look at the mess you made." Kiri stated nonchalantly as she watched the feathers float down around her. Arrow lost it.

"That's it!" The taller girl leapt back on top of Kiri, pinning her back onto the bed. "You are SOOO dead!" Arrow seized another pillow. "YOU! ARE! SO! DEA-"  
><em><br>BANG_

The two girls stopped trying to kill each other and turned to see three heatedly arguing Shinigami enter the room.

"All I'm saying is, why the hell do we have to babysit the ryoka? I have mountains of paperwork that need to be finished and the papers deadline is this week. Leave them to Izuru! He'll be fine."

"Hisagi-san . . ." Izuru stated, looking somewhere between annoyance and extreme depression.

"I'm sorry! But . . . it is Yamamoto-soutaicho's orders . . . Kurosaki and the others have Kuchiki-san and Abarai-san to take care of them, but from what they've said these two are unconnected but have some importance so they need someone to keep them out of trouble . . ." Isane suddenly stopped speaking as she noticed Shuuhei and Izuru's expressions. "What?"

Both men were staring at the taller, black-haired girl pinning the smaller one to the bed, rumpled sheets all over the floor and their yukatas disheveled. Both girls were giving the three shinigami a look that was a combination of "Do you mind?" and "Why are you looking at us like that?"

A sudden silence took hold as blushes began to creep up the faces of the three Shinigami. Before them was a sight of highly suggestive content, unfortunately those who had been caught in said scene were obvious to the implications of their compromising positions. Shuuhei felt a small trickle of blood pull free from his nose.

"Uh . . ." Shuuhei stated, stepping forward towards the girls, "What are you . . ."

Arrow straightened, her body still sitting on top of Kiri's and her yukata riding up in places that it shouldn't have. "What?"

The lieutenant's eyes widened as he saw the girl's face more clearly. "YOU!" The man suddenly felt his blush deepen even more as he realized just how scantily clad the girl was.

Arrow, who had been thoroughly absorbed in killing Kiri, sighed as she looked back over her shoulder towards the 9th's lieutenant. "Not you again. I already beat you! Do I need to do it again?"

Shuuhei spluttered indignantly, his embarrassment over the girls' attire suddenly forgotten and being replaced with the painful notion of his defeat. "Y-you…..cheated!" _Nice cover up, Shuuhei_, he thought sarcastically to himself.

"Riggghhhtt if you call using your zanpakutou's power 'cheating'." Arrow watched the man's face grown red and couldn't help but pry, "Or are you just pissed you got beat by a girl?" Arrow stepped down from the bed, her black hair flying in every direction around her. Placing a hand on her hip she lifted an eyebrow and looked at Shuuhei with a smirk on her face.

"I was going easy on you." Shuuhei said, obviously trying to keep his calm façade intact. "There is no way I would be defeated in earnest by a ryoka girl such as yourself." Arrow's eyes narrowed.

"Oh I'm sure you were, Shuuhei," Arrow drawled her eyes locked with his, "Which is exactly why you had to call out Kazeshini huh?" She noted the look of shock that flitted across his face, "Yes yes I know about your stupid zanpakutou, but back to what I was saying, how pathetic getting beat by a GIRL who's only had three days' worth of training! You sure you're the second seat of your division because of your skill or is it just cause they feel pity for a retard like you?"

At this Shuuhei's temper flared, "What do you know? You're just some ryoka girl who has no ranking here in the Soul Society." Arrow's eye twitched. _Girl, girl, girl, girl . . . sexist pig._

"You're just sore cause I kicked your ass! Come on then! Let's fight again, prove to me you can win," she let out a brief chuckle, "Though everyone here in the room is well aware you can't."

Shuuhei's mouth fell open in shock as he tried to come up with a retort but nothing would come to him.

"You might wanna close your mouth," Arrow stated as she stretched her arms upward, "You're drooling on yourself though I'm sure that's a common occurrence. Am I right?" She looked towards the other Shinigami who only looked at her with disbelief.

"Y-YOU!" Shuuhei hissed at the black-haired girl before him, the smirk on her face grating against his already high strung nerves, "Why must you be such an infuriating idiot?"

Arrow and Shuuhei had migrated closer to one another as they exchanged insults, both now standing face to face with one another and sparks flying.

Kiri, who was still laying on the bed, watched the scene before her with a decent amount of amusement. Watching the two practically nose to nose, she smirked, knowing just how her friend felt about the punk lieutenant. "Hey, now, Arrow, you get much closer to him you'll be able to kiss him . . . not that you'd mind, I suppose."

Arrow abruptly pulled back from Shuuhei, blushing heavily. She glared at Kiri and said firmly, "Please refrain from making nonsensical comments associate as your input is not valued and is FALSE. This man here is an egotistical, sexist pig, and you know I am merely putting him in his PLACE." She turned back to a very confused Shuuhei and continued shouting at him, giving no sign that she'd been interrupted.

Kiri grinned and pulled her attention from the two fighting, finding herself looking towards the other two Shinigami in the room, Izuru and Isane. Isane seemed to be preoccupied with preventing a full out fistfight breaking out between the two black-haired occupants of the room and Izuru was watching Kiri.

Smiling awkwardly, Kiri waved at him. She'd always honestly felt slightly sorry for the poor emo lieutenant. Getting off the bed with a groan and straightening her yukata, she walked over to him and held out her hand. "Hi, I'm Kierra Griffith, but please call me Kiri."

Izuru looked slightly surprised, but timidly shook hands. "I'm Kira Izu-"

"-Izuru, lieutenant of Squad Three. I know." Kiri said, before she could stop herself. "Oops," she added as an afterthought, seeing the look on his face.

"How did you . . ." The blonde questioned, his face scrunched up in confusion at the fellow blonde's words.

"Uhhh . . ." Kiri scratched the back of her head. "Arrow and I are . . . seers. Yeah. That. Basically, both of us know . . . pretty much everything about everyone and what's going to happen and what has happened here. Heh."

Izuru's eyes widened, "H-how? Is that why Yamamoto-soutaicho wants to speak with you so badly?"

Arrow stopped midsentence of yelling at Shuuhei and turned to look at Izuru. "That old prick wants to talk to us? Oh boy."

At this Shuuhei grew outraged, who did this girl think she was? "How dare you address the soutaicho in such an inappropriate manner!"

"Oh please," Arrow stated, blowing a strand of hair from her face, and waving her hand dismissively, "Such a kiss ass." She looked towards Kira. "So what does the old man want with us anyway?"

At this Isane spoke up, "Well Y-Yoruichi-sama spoke up on your behalf, as well as Kurosaki-san and the fellow ryoka, claiming that you were uh well . . ."

"Seers?" Arrow finished for Isane, trying to calm her temper enough so not to make the timid girl in front of her uncomfortable. Turning she placed a hand on her hip and looked towards the other occupants of the room, her face slightly red from all the yelling.

"A-ah yes!" Isane looked thoroughly disheveled and Arrow sighed, trying to calm her frazzled nerves from bickering with Shuuhei. She would have never thought that he would have gotten on her nerves so violently.

"It's all right Isane-san, we'll go see him," Arrow looked up to taller girl, who looked shocked at the girl knowing her name, and smiled, "Can we just have a few minutes to put on . . . uh, more appropriate attire?"

Kiri chimed in. "And maybe could you direct us to where we could find showers?"

"Of course!" Isane chirped, grabbing Shuuhei and Izuru's arms she dragged the men from the room. "The shower room is down the hall and to the left. We'll wait for you in the front of the building, please join us when you are ready."

"Well first impressions are always the best!" Kiri chirped happily. Arrow's eyes narrowed as she glanced over her shoulder towards the blonde.

"Kiri." Arrow stated as she turned her back towards the blonde, her hands grabbing her clothes.

"Yes Arrow dear?" Kiri smiled widely, knowing that her teasing comment about Shuuhei Hisagi had struck a nerve with her tall companion. A pillow suddenly slammed into Kiri's face.

"DIE!"

_**Author's Note: A big thank you to our reviewers and story alerters/favoriters **_


	15. Objective 15: Be on the Right Foot

_**Thanks to the general chaos known as life it's been awhile since an update. HOWEVER Chapter 15 is finally here so we do hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

><p>"Whoever invented hot showers was a <em>genius.<em>"

Arrow gave a long-suffering sigh and ran the brush through her wet hair one last time. _Damnit,_ she inwardly grumbled, _I don't have my flat iron with me. Curl city here I come._ "Kiri, are you finished yet?" She barked, "You've been in there for over half an hour! You do realize Isane and the others are waiting on us, don't you?"

A groan came from the blonde situated behind the shower curtain. "Hey, do you know how long it's been since I've showered? What's more, do you know how long it takes to get blood out from under your fingernails?"

"Kiri," Arrow growled warningly, her eyes glaring holes in the shower curtain, "If you don't get your ass out here I'll drag you out."

"Fiiiine." The water shut off and a hand appeared from behind the curtain, groping for something. "Hey, Arrow, where's the towel?"

Arrow glanced around for a second before realizing she'd used the second towel to dry her hair. "Oops." Poking through a couple cupboards on the walls she discovered another one and handed it in to her friend. After a pause, the taller girl said, "You know, it's kind of funny, in a screwed up sort of way."

Kiri stepped out of the shower and began working the knots out of her hair. "What is?"

"I've just been thinking," Arrow commented as she looked to the opposite side of the room while her friend dressed, "we're not even from this world and yet we're part of Aizen's plan." She snorted. "Seriously, where does that cocky bastard come off?"

"I don't know, but he gets his information fast. I mean, from what he said, he's the entire reason we even got into Seireitei. He must have opened the gate for us. He probably also planted that pendant that you were wearing earlier." Kiri straightened her top. "You know, I never thought I'd miss wearing a normal shirt."

Arrow opened the door and the two stepped out into the hallway. "I completely forgot about that stupid thing. I left it down in the training area when we freaked out looking for Ichigo. I suppose we don't really need it now though, since everyone knows we're here."

The blonde giggled. "I can't wait to watch you explain to Kyoraku why you were impersonating his lieutenant . . ." The glare the taller girl sent her earned a small squeak from the blonde.

"I'll have you know that was YOUR brilliant idea." Grumbling, Arrow shook her head and immediately growled, her hair having dried and popped into ringlets.

"What now?" Kiri inquired innocently, looking her taller friend over and immediately noting the cause of her distress.

"It's curly," she muttered darkly as she glared at a strand of her ringletted hair and pulled on it, attempting to straighten it out, but with no success.

"It's pretty!" Kiri chirped, earning herself another glare. "Oh, quit being such a baby about it. Heh, I bet Shunsui will think its ni-!" Kiri felt a hand smack her painfully across the mouth.

"Ow! Damn it! Why are you so abusive?" Rubbing her mouth in disdain, Kiri sent a glare at the dark-haired girl's back. Turning around the corner following behind by Kiri, Arrow found herself standing the main entrance of the fourth division. The three Shinigami waiting on them were standing in a tight circle chatting mindlessly, with an additional member standing there in all of her buxom glory.

_Holy hell_, Arrow thought, _No wonder she almost smothered herself in sleep_. Before the two girls stood none other than Rangiku Matsumoto in all of her femininity, waving her hands excitedly as she spoke to Kira in a scandalous voice, or what could have been assumed a scandalous voice from the way the blonde was blushing in response.

_I guess they already worked out their differences then,_ Arrow smirked inwardly, _over sake of course_.

The strawberry blonde's motions suddenly halted though when her eyes landed on the two girls standing outside of the circle.

"OH my GOD!" Rangiku squealed suddenly causing Arrow to lift an eyebrow in question and Kiri to cover her ears painfully. Pushing rudely past Isane, she quickly skidded up to Arrow with a look of pure fascination on her face.

"Your hair! I-It's-" Arrow felt a blush creep up her cheeks, she knew exactly how BAD her hair probably looked in that instant, "It's GORGEOUS! Such a dark color and in ringlets! Tell me, how long did you spend curling it?"

Arrow's face fell into a deadpan. _You're kidding, right . . ._

"Hah!" Kiri shouted triumphantly. "SEE? I'm not the only one who likes it curly!" Turning back to the lieutenant, she told her, "She didn't curl it at all. It does that naturally. I don't know why, but she hates it. She was complaining about how she didn't have a flat iron earlier." She stuck out a hand. "I'm Kiri, by the way."

Rangiku looked utterly scandalized as she shook Kiri's hand. "How could anyone think of flattening out such beautiful curl? That's horrible!" Shaking her head and stepping over to shake Arrow's hand, she said, "I'm Rangiku Matsumoto, lieutenant of squad ten. But I suppose you girls already knew that, huh?"

"So the whole 'seer' thing is getting around, huh?" Arrow asked, half in an attempt to steer the conversation away from the topic of her hair.

"All the captains and lieutenants have been briefed on you two. Or at least, as much as we know about you." Rangiku hesitated, then asked, ". . . Is it true you guys are Ichigo's long-lost second cousins?"

Kiri facepalmed. "You talked to Orihime, didn't you."

Hisagi, who had been hanging back with Kira throughout this discussion, suddenly stepped forward, looking rather irritated. "I hate to break up this little conversation, but we DO have an appointment with the soutaicho, in case you've forgotten." Kiri noted that he seemed to be glaring in particular in Arrow's direction, who glowered right back. She snorted to herself. _This should be interesting._

"A-ah, yes!" Isane and Kira seemed to have been doing their best to stay out of everyone's way, but now the tall young woman stepped forward. "Follow me, please." She shunpoed neatly to the nearest rooftop, followed by Izuru, Shuuhei, Rangiku, and Kiri.

"Fuck." Stated Arrow simply, realizing she had no choice but attempt to follow them. Bracing herself, she took off after them.

* * *

><p>Arrow picked herself up off the ground for the umpteenth time and rubbed her head. <em>Screw shunpo. I don't care how fast it is. It's NOT WORTH IT.<em>

Rangiku glanced back and saw the girl sitting forlornly on the ground. "You poor dear! Are you all right?" She jumped down next to her. "Here, let me help you."

Arrow glared at her and stood up. "I'm fine, damn it!" She tried to catch up to the others and proceeded to overshoot and topple off yet another building, catching everyone else's attention.

"Um . . . Do you need help, Arrow-san?" Asked Izuru timidly.

She growled and dusted herself off again. "I got this! Damn!"

Kiri snorted and muttered to Shuuhei, "She doesn't have it."

Rangiku, who had been following Arrow's progress from building to ground since she had noticed the trouble, yelped, "Oh, you poor girl! Shuuhei! Carry her!"

Both the black-haired girl and the lieutenant looked horrified and yelled, "HELL NO!" Kiri grinned at them and took off again, not waiting for her friend this time.

"Slowpoke!" She called back. "Are you _sure_ you don't want him to help you? I bet he'd carry you _bridal-style_if you asked nicely!"

The growl that followed that comment echoed throughout the corridor, catching the attention of all of the Shinigami. In a moment of pure chance Arrow gained control over her shunpo and shoved into Kiri, sending the girl flying through the air, toppling end over end.

"Oops, my bad," Arrow feigned innocence, but her eyes were narrowed and a smirk settled on her face. "Seems I'm just no good at controlling shunpo."

Catching herself mid-tumble, Kiri squeaked slightly before righting herself and standing triumphantly in mid-air. Smirking slightly she pushed her hip out, her eyes sparkling. "I'm sorry, what were you saying?" Turning on her heel she smiled back over her shoulder to her friend who was rapidly losing control over her shunpo again. "Come and get me, that is, if you can figure out how!"

A sweatdrop fell across the foreheads of their companion shinigami.

Picking up a loose pebble off the ground Arrow easily pegged the taunting girl between the eyes causing the blonde to squawk and flail. With the unexpected motion Kiri soon felt the air beneath her suddenly start racing past her. Cursing, she attempted to force the reiatsu to her feet once again, but to no avail.

Preparing to collide with hard tile said blonde was surprised when she landed on something that felt oddly soft. Opening one eye she looked around and soon found that she had indeed fallen with something human, that something being poor Izuru.

Blushing Kiri shot up onto her feet and couldn't help but notice how dead Izuru looked. "Oops! I'm sorry!" Holding her hand out to Izuru she quickly helped him up. "Heh, my bad, you okay?"

At the comment Izuru blushed slightly before smiling. "I'm fine." A loud string of curse words suddenly erupted from the black-haired girl who lost her balance and almost fell off the building. "Should I go help her?"

At Izuru's concerned look Kiri snickered, shaking her head she patted the man on the shoulder. "Nope, not if you value your life that is." Kiri looked over towards her friend yelling at Rangiku that she was perfectly fine. "She tends to try a little too hard to be independent. She'll figure it out eventually. And until then . . . free entertainment!" With a dismissive flick of her wrist, Kiri kept walking forward as Izuru continued to watch disbelievingly.

"Arrow-san?" Izuru queried carefully, "Would you like some help?" The death glare he received in return immediately shut him up.

Kiri smiled, "See? What did I tell you? Come on, let's go." Turning on heel she set off without another backwards glance. Izuru was still far from convinced.

"Do you people not get it? I. DON'T. NEED. HELP!" Arrow hissed, throwing her hands skyward. However, as her proclamation rang out her foot hit a loose rock and she went tumbling backwards from the building and towards the ground. "SHIT!" Landing with a solid thunk on her side Arrow could do nothing but groan and mutter "ow" in response, her hands immediately coming up over her face.

"Arrow-chan!" Watching the girl tumble from the building Rangiku quickly shunpoed next to the fallen girl and began to fuss over her, her hands waving wildly. "Are you okay?"  
>Arrow growled before rolling over on her back and grumbled several curse words as she glared at the sky. "I hate my life."<p>

At this point Kiri was no longer in sight having long outpaced the others as they attempted to assist the shunpo retarded girl. Arrow grudgingly grabbed Rangiku's hand and allowed the strawberry blonde to pull her to her feet, an action she instantly regretted.

"OW! Shit!" Trying not to put weight on her twisted ankle, she growled and ignored Rangiku's offer of assistance, preferring to hobble along on her own. "I got this."

* * *

><p>About thirty minutes later, the odd procession of one very pissed off shingami, an injured girl, and two other shinigami attempting to help her finally arrived at the first division's main office, where Kiri was sitting with her back against a wall, to all appearances asleep, having found her way herself.<p>

Arrow growled and kicked the blonde over, who stretched and said quite cheerfully, "Hey there! What kept you?"

"Shut the fuck up, and get the fuck out."

"Aw, meanie. It's not my fault you suck at shunpo." Kiri glanced her over more closely. "Dude, you look like you just went through a war."

Arrow glared back at her, then faced the door. "Let's get this over with."

"Yeah. Come on, Curly!" She giggled, glancing at Izuru and Shuuhei. "Mo and Larry over there will wait for us, I guess."

Arrow smacked her as the two shinigami looked at each other. "Who are Mo and Larry . . . ?"

"Hisagi-san, I think it's better we don't ask."

Making their way into the first division barracks several wary glances were sent towards the two girls. Kiri chattered happily and idly as Arrow tried to work her hair into a braid in an attempt to tame the annoying curls as they made their way towards Yamamoto's office.

"Halt," Yamamoto's lieutenant barked suddenly, having appeared out of nowhere. "State your name and rank." He held himself in a very pompous fashion and Kiri rolled her eyes. It was obvious that if he didn't really have a stick up his ass literally, he definitely had a figurative one up there.

"We're the girls that Yamamoto requested to see." she supplied, watching as the man's eyes narrowed.

"I asked for you to state your names and ranks," he repeated in a snide tone, looking down his nose at the girls, "and you shall not address the soutaicho in such a disrespectful fashion." Kiri sweatdropped.

At this Arrow grinned evilly, obviously not in the mood for formalities, before leaning forward and grabbing Sasakibe's shirt front. "The name's Wolfe, Arrow Wolfe. As in the seer who knows anything and everything about you." Her grin only widened when he swallowed nervously. "And this is Kiri. Now, I've been through hell just trying to get here so it would be in YOUR best interest to step aside and let us get this dear meeting on with the soutaicho."

As Arrow dropped her grip, Sasakibe stumbled back slightly and rubbed his neck discretely from where her hand had locked on his shirt. "O-of course Wolfe-san. This way."

Arrow's scary aura immediately disappeared. "Thank you." Kiri sweatdropped and took a step away from her companion, sometimes she was too scary even for the blonde's taste.

"That was kinda harsh." Kiri muttered watching her friend who only smiled cheekily in return.

"I've never done well with formalities anyway," She smirked and shrugged her shoulders as she looked over towards Kiri, "besides don't they say the first impression's the most important?"

"My point exactly," Kiri muttered under her breath as they finally reach the immense doors that lead into the head Captain's Chambers and Office. It was far more impressive in real life than one could have imagined and Kiri was almost in a state of awe at the sight.

"Yamamoto-soutaicho is ready to meet with you." The silver haired lieutenant bowed respectfully, motioning for the two girls to go through. Grinning, Arrow walked forward and ruffled his hair as she passed.

"Good Polly," she cooed, "Want a cracker?" the look Sasakibe returned was priceless.

Kiri guffawed. "Wow, Arrow . . . I bet he hates you already. Nice job. That takes talent."

Her friend shrugged. "Like I ever cared about impressions anyway." Arrow heaved open the doors.

Yamamoto looked up from his desk as the two girls entered. "You two are the purported seers, I presume?"

Arrow snorted. "No, we're the Schwan's guys delivering your sushi."

Yamamoto ignored the sarcasm as Kiri rolled her eyes at her friend. "Yes, we are."

The soutaicho put down the papers he had been reviewing and surveyed the two from under his immense eyebrows. "I have received reports of your supposed abilities. You claim to know everything that has happened and will happen here?"

Kiri spluttered a little. "Well I can't really say we know EVERYTHING . . ."

Yamamoto raised a long white eyebrow slightly. "You deny your claimed abilities then."

"Ehh . . ." the blonde shifted uncomfortably, wishing she hadn't spoken up. "No, I don't. But it's completely impossible that we could know EVERYTHING-"

Arrow cut her off. "We'll prove it. Ask us something."

"Very well." The old man looked directly at Arrow. "Tell me something about my past only I would know."

_Crap crap crap . . ._ thought Kiri to herself. _Yamamoto's one of the few people in Bleach who has next to no backstory!_ Panicked, she looked up at her friend, who winked. _What?_

Arrow stepped forward and whispered something very quietly into the old commander's ear. There was a pause, then, very slowly, a deep blush rose to cover his face. He cleared his throat, then said in a rather unsettled voice, "Very well! Ah . . . it appears I was incorrect to doubt you. You are indeed seers, as you claim." Arrow walked back to Kiri's side with a satisfied smile on her face.

Yamamoto regained his focus. "Very well, due to the recent circumstances you will be kept under surveillance until we are certain you are not enemies. I also understand you both have received next to no training, despite your appearance. As you will need to earn your keep in order to stay here, I am putting you in training with a few of the captains until you are capable enough to go on missions."

"'Recent circumstances'?" shouted Arrow, all signs of satisfaction gone. "We helped your sorry asses out! You should be kissing OUR asses! Besides, what makes you think you can boss me around? Huh?" Kiri winced. Arrow really was terrible with any sort of authority figure.

Yamamoto, unfortunately, was not used to being shouted at, much less told he was being unreasonable. "You are out of line, Wolfe-san!" Arrow glared back at him as he stood up behind his desk. "It would be wise for you to refrain from speaking further as I am granting you lenience-"

Kiri noticed her friend preparing to shout something back and hurriedly slapped a hand over Arrow's mouth. "Understood sir!" she chirped, trying to forestall any further antagonistic behavior from either party. "Thank you." She gave the taller girl a _"stop-talking-you-idiot"_ look.

Rubbing his temples, the soutaicho sat back down. He could feel a pounding headache coming on. Taking a deep breath, he continued. "Now, since you will be spending some time with us apparently, I will assign you housing. As you are not currently with a particular squad, I am assigning you apartments, rather than rooms in the barracks. Some Shinigami prefer to live outside of their squad, and to accommodate them we have separate apartments." He signed two forms and handed them to the girls. "Take these to the Shinigami in charge of the building, he'll assign you rooms."

Kiri smiled charmingly, "Thanks, we really appreciate it."

Arrow's eyes narrowed at the old man, her mouth barely moving as she muttered inaudible profanities, looking far from pleased.

Kiri slammed her heel down on Arrow's hurt foot causing the taller girl to hiss and glare at the shorter girl, who continued to smile sickeningly sweetly, looking pointedly at Arrow. The black-haired girl's eyes narrowed.

"Thanks." She muttered sarcastically. Kiri stomped on her foot again. "Ow! Fuck! Okay! Thanks." At this Kiri nodded approvingly and smiled when Yamamoto mimicked her motion, clearly dismissing them. One more impossible task conquered, only several million more to come.

Almost to the door, the old man called after them. "Wolfe-san."

Arrow growled, then turned around. "What?"

Yamamoto leveled a stare directly into her eyes. "I hope you understand the consequences if you tell ANYONE of . . . that."

The tall girl grinned evilly. "Oh, yes sir, of course, I can quite see your point. I wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

><p>"That muscle-headed narcissistic asshole!" Arrow growled as she strode out of the First Division offices, looking far from pleased. "Who the HELL does he think he is, barking orders at us like that!"<p>

"Look, you know I never really liked him either. But like it or not, he IS in command here, and we're going to have to just go with it." Kiri looked far from impressed. "Besides, I believe he is the soutaicho."

Arrow turned abruptly. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

Kiri grinned cheekily, "You're quite welcome Lieutenant Sarcasm." Arrow opened her mouth to retort but Kiri quickly cut her off. "Anyway, how did you pull that off? We know almost nothing about Yamamoto! Did you remember something in some obscure episode I somehow missed?"

Her friend grinned. "Actually, I took a wild guess. I had no idea if it was true or not."

"OOH!" The blonde looked thrilled. "What was it?"

"Ah, ah! I can't tell you!" Arrow's expression suddenly became saintlike, which in and of itself was terrifying. "What, do you expect me to defy a direct order from the Captain Commander himself?" she asked innocently.

Kiri glared at her. "Yeah, I bet this is the ONLY time you're EVER going to follow his orders, and that's just because following them means you get to irritate me."

"I would never do such a-" Arrow was cut abruptly short when she found her head buried in a rather large bosom.

"Arrow-chan!" Rangiku cooed, pulling the girl into a tight hug, "Kiri-chan! Did you girls get everything sorted out?"

"Rangiku-san," Kiri stated, a knowing look on her face, "Are you ditching work again?"

Rangiku suddenly froze and released her strong hold on Arrow sending the taller girl to the ground gasping, trying to re-inflate her lungs. "Whoa! You really are a seer! Oooh, can you tell me what hairstyle I'll look best with!"

Kiri snorted, "Uhhh no . . . and we don't really need to be seers for that. It's fairly obvious by itself, to know you're ditching out on work that is."

"You do know Shiro's going to be pissed when you get back right?" Arrow inquired, having picked herself up from the ground and standing next to her fellow "seer."

The busty blonde looked at the girl in shock, thoroughly taken aback that she had called her captain "Shiro."

Arrow continued anyway, paying little heed to Rangiku's shock, and held out the paperwork towards the blonde. "Can you tell us how to get to these apartments?"

Rangiku, quickly snapping out of her shock, took the forms from the tall girl. "Oh! Of course, I know exactly where to g-"

"MATSUMOTO!"

"Shoot!" The busty lieutenant glanced around nervously. "Ahh . . . sorry girls, gotta run." She vanished as she shunpoed away. Kiri raised an eyebrow at a rather unimpressed-looking Arrow. "Wow."

A second later a rather vertically challenged captain with fluffy white hair appeared before them and glanced around, looking rather harried. Noticing them, Toshiro sighed and asked politely, "Excuse me, have you seen my lieutenant?"

Both girls quickly feigned innocence. "Nope, haven't seen her." Kiri said cheerfully, once again managing to suppress her inner fangirl at the sight of another one of her favorite characters. "Sorry."

"Well . . . if you do see her, would you tell her to PLEASE come back and do her paperwork?" _Aw_, thought Kiri, _Poor guy looks exhausted._

"Of course!" chirped Arrow, sounding just as innocent as her friend. Toshiro sighed again and bowed politely before shunpoing away as well.

A slight giggle escaped Kiri's mouth. "He's so adorable . . ." Arrow rolled her eyes.

"And you're SO hopeless." She glanced around. "Well, shit, now what are we supposed to do? I have no idea where this building is."

Izuru and Shuuhei appeared suddenly from around a corner, upon sight of the two girls being released from their meeting the blonde lieutenant waved. The latter, however, looked like he had half a mind to turn around and walk off the way he had come.

"Oh, that's right!" Kiri said, noticing Arrow's reiatsu instantly darken upon seeing the ninth division lieutenant, "They were going to wait for us to get out of our meeting." She stepped forward. "Sorry to bother you guys more, but could you take us to this building?" The blonde held out the form and Izuru looked at it.

"Of course . . . we are assigned to be helping you, after all . . ." He stepped past the two, closely followed by Shuuhei, who muttered under his breath, "I'm seriously about to ditch this assignment . . . and I NEVER ditch work . . ."

Arrow smiled brightly as stepped up next to Kira, "Oh, thank you Kira-FUKUTAICHO, you're so helpful!" Her eyes glanced back over her shoulder. "Unlike certain OTHER PEOPLE, who are completely useless."

The young lieutenant looked thoroughly confused by the sudden emphasis on his rank. "Thank you?"

"Of course!" Smiling Arrow turned her head abruptly swinging her braid wildly around and sending it spiraling into a certain punk shinigami's face. "Please do lead the way."

Shuuhei spluttered in disbelief as he swatted the hair out of his face and glared at the black-haired girl whose back was beginning to grow smaller as she walked off, her hips swinging in victory. He didn't know what it was, but something about that girl just pissed him off.

Kiri, who had watched the entire scene could do nothing more than laugh. "Oh boy, this could get interesting."

* * *

><p>Walking up the final set of stairs, Izuru smiled kindly and pointed towards two doors on the edge of the apartment complex. "Rooms 413, and 414 . . . ah, here you are."<p>

Snatching the key labeled 414 from the emo blonde's hand, Kiri sprinted towards the door and slammed the key into the lock, throwing the door open.

"Oh wow!" she yelped in delight, looking around like a child in a candy shop, "This is awesome!" Although it was only one room, the apartment was quite large. A small kitchen to the right of the door with a stove, microwave, and refrigerator was separated from the rest of the apartment by a breakfast bar with a couple stools. A large window on the wall opposite the door let in ample light to show the bed shoved into the corner next to it. A small round table fitted neatly into the corner between the breakfast bar and the bed, and a large closet was set into the wall opposite the foot of the bed. Another door next to the closet presumably led to Arrow's room next door. Kiri smiled as she noticed another detail. The walls were pale sage green, almost the exact same color of her room back home.

Making a beeline for the bed, the girl threw herself down unceremoniously and began rolling around, giggling mindlessly. "BEEEEDDDD . . ."

The look the two lieutenants sent her was priceless.

Arrow barely glanced up. "Ignore her." Politely pulling her key from Izuru's hand, she slipped her key into the room that was on the corner of the building and allowed the door to fall inward.  
>"Huh," Arrow muttered as she looked around, "not bad." <em>Far from bad<em>, she thought to herself, _these apartments are huge._The design of the apartment was surprisingly modern and equipped with several commodities that she thoroughly appreciated. The color was surprisingly nice too, not being some obnoxious pastel but rather a deep red accented with black, whoever designed those apartments definitely had Arrow's undivided approval.

Izuru spoke up. "Yours is a little bigger, Arrow-san, because it's on the corner of the building. I hope that alright."

"Yes, it's just fine." Turning around in the doorway she looked at the two lieutenants, a genuine smile on her face for the first time. "Thank you Izuru. You've been very helpful." Another blush crept up the blonde's face at the notion that the young woman kept addressing him in such a casual manner. "Unlike certain others who shall remain un-named." Sending one last pointed glare at Shuuhei she closed the door and slipped the lock into place.

Sighing, she slid down the door and put her head on her knees. The events of the last week weighed heavily in her mind, how had so much happened so fast? Sighing again, she rubbed her face trying to sort out her jumbled thoughts. They had failed, and rather epically too.

_How are we going to rebound ourselves from this one?_ She thought, her stomach knotting. _One step at a time_, she reminded herself, _one step at a time, you've got this.  
><em>  
>She slammed her head back against the door, <em>Right I've got this . . . yeah right.<em> Not to mention she had a certain annoying lieutenant that she wanted to strangle following her around like a babysitter. She scowled, then closed her eyes and slid further down the doorframe. _Maybe I should go jump off a cliff._

She lay there for a moment playing with the thought till she realized if she allowed herself to do that she'd let Aizen, not to mention Shuuhei, win, and there was no way in hell that was happening.

* * *

><p>As the door slid closed, Shuuhei's patience finally wore thin. "She is so goddamn AGGRAVATING!" Huffing, his shoulders slumped as he glared at the door as though it had done him some great injustice.<p>

Izuru looked mildly shocked; Shuuhei had never shown such intense emotion over something so trivial, not to mention he'd never seen anyone get to Shuuhei with such intensity, and that was saying something when considering the normally calm Lieutenant.

"Don't worry Hisagi-san," the blonde attempted, "I'm sure you just got off on the wrong foot . . ."

Growling, Hisagi began stomping down the hall. "I don't want to be on the RIGHT FOOT."

Izuru looked skeptical. "You barely know her."

"And I intend to keep it that way." Hisagi concluded as he descended the stairs.

"She really gets under his skin," Izuru mused to himself as he watched his friend disappear. "Was their battle really that bad?"

* * *

><p>Arrow hesitantly opened her door and poked her head out, searching for any sign of the other Shinigami. Upon seeing the empty balcony, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God." Stepping out of her room, she banged on Kiri's door. "Yo, retard!"<p>

The blonde's muffled voice sounded. "What do you want?"

"Let's go hunt food."

The door flew open. "Well why didn't you say so? Jeez! Let's go!" Kiri stepped out quickly and set off down the stairs. "Man . . . did you see those rooms? They're really spoiling us!"

Arrow grimaced. "Yeah, now if we can just keep the babysitters shook life would be grand."

"Oh, come on, they're not that bad." The two reached the bottom of the stairs and set off toward the nearest dining hall. "I mean, yeah, Izuru needs to grow a set, but he's nice. And you just got off on the wrong foot with Shuuhei."

Arrow glared off in a different direction, growling, "I don't want to be on the RIGHT foot."

* * *

><p><em><strong>That was ungodly long, haha. For those of you who are interested there will be a chapter reflecting on Gin coming up in the near future so til then. :)<strong>_

**R&R**


	16. Objective 16:Don't Pass Out

_**Disclaimer:If I owned BLEACH I wouldn't be writing fanfiction now would I?**_

_**Author's Note: It's been so long since an update and both myself and my co-author apologize profusely. Fortunately this chapter is super long so hope you enjoy it. **_

**Chapter 16**

Arrow watched Kiri with slight incredulousness as the smaller girl devoured rice ball after rice ball. _It always amazes me how much she can eat, considering her body size. _Her friend stopped with another onigiri halfway to her mouth, noticing Arrow staring at her. "What? This food is awesome!"

The other girl sighed and picked at her sushi unsuccessfully with her chop sticks. There was something unnatural about trying to eat food with two wooden sticks and not being permitted to stab it. Growing frustrated she threw the chop sticks down and lent forward her forehead pressed against the table, "Oh what I would give for a steak . . ."

"You're the idiot who got sushi. I can't stand that stuff." Kiri shrugged, totally missing the distress of her friend, "But hey, it's free food, I'm certainly not going to complain." She then took another bite and glanced around the cafeteria, Arrow following her gaze. At least half the people there appeared to be eyeing them and commenting. The dark-haired girl glared at them.

"Well, people are as nosy here as in our home world, I see." Arrow hissed in annoyance, making sure her dark gaze landed on all those who were blatantly staring.

Kiri swallowed. "You know you'd be the same way if you just found out there were seers amongst you. Cut them a break."

Arrow sighed and shook her head, then pushed back from the table and picked up her tray. "Let's go walk around and see how long we can avoid the ambiguously gay duo who're supposed to be babysitting us."

The blond choked on her onigiri for a moment. "Hey, they're not as ambiguously gay as Ikkaku and Yumichika," Kiri tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Mostly Yumichika though . . ." She laughed awkwardly as her friend twitched in response.

"Don't make me think about it," Arrow pleaded, "please." Shaking her head, the black-haired girl glanced around the dining room and was met with hundreds of curious eyes watching her. Glaring pointedly around at them all, Arrow was pleased to note that most of the people quickly decided their food was far more interesting that staring at the 'seer'.

Kiri, noting her friend's diverted attention, quickly looked up and glanced around, her mouth over-filled with food. Swallowing loudly, she wiped her mouth and commented, "Dude, have you seen the people in here?" The blonde had taken note of several characters that she was bursting to go and tackle but had to restrain herself from doing so.

At this Arrow stared pointedly at the blonde. Kiri, however, was paying her companion no attention as her eyes fell on a pair that made the girl shriek in utter delight.

"LOOK! It's Shunsui and Nanao!" Jumping up, she began to wave enthusiastically towards the pair. In a moment of panic, Arrow's eyes widened as she quickly scanned the room for the closest exit, hoping to avoid speaking to a certain pink-garbed captain. Just as she had found a viable route Arrow felt two hands grab her arm and begin to pull her towards the man. "Let's go say hi!"

Yanking her arm free, Arrow stepped back until her back hit the table as her hands came up defensively "Oh hell no."

"Oh come on!" pried the blonde, her face plastered in a pout.

"NO!" yelped Arrow. "I would rather spend a week locked in a room with Shuuhei!"

The smile of the devil graced Kiri's lips. "Oh, I'm sure that could be arranged," The blonde waggled her eyebrows as she stepped up towards her friend and whispered, "I'm sure you two would "warm up" to each other soon enough. . ."

Arrow's cheeks flamed red before she shoved her friend away, her shoulders taut as she hissed at her. "I'm going to show you 'warm up to each other' when I shove my boot so far up your ass you taste leather!"

At this outburst many of the occupants turned with alarm toward the two companions.

Kiri, obviously unfazed, only smiled delightedly before promptly responding, "You sure you wouldn't rather keep the leather for yourself, and maybe add some punk tattoos?"

Fuming, Arrow grabbed a glass of water off the table and dumped it over Kiri's head. "No, thank you." She grinned impishly as her friend squawked indignantly and flailed. "How was your shower?"

The blonde glared and flicked water onto her. "You're just mad 'cause I'm right."

"This conversation is ENTIRELY pointless." Sending one last pointed look the taller girl picked up her tray and walked off toward the trashcans. Glancing in that direction, Kiri smirked. Arrow had failed to notice that Shunsui had also collected his tray and was heading for Arrow's exact destination, followed by his lieutenant. The small girl hurried after her friend, not wanting to miss any of the action.

Her mind still on Kiri's comments, Arrow was startled out of her thoughts when she bumped into someone, spilling her uneaten food all over them. "Oh crap, I'm sorr-" She stopped as she noticed who she'd just run into.

Shunsui unconcernedly brushed rice off his haori. "Oh, it's no problem." He looked up and his eyes widened. "Especially when it's a pretty young lady such as yourself!"

Sensing danger, Arrow began to back away frantically. "Uhhh . . ."

"Sir," a calm voice ordered the captain from behind him. Turning to face the voice, the girls caught sight of the one and only Nanao Ise looking at her Captain is disdain. "You do realize this is one of the ryoka seers don't you? Please try to show her a little respect."

At this Shunsui's face fell into a puppy-like pout as he looked towards his lieutenant with a most pathetic expression. Seeing her opportunity to escape, Arrow turned quickly and began to flee when Kiri's arm suddenly linked with hers, tethering the girl in place.

"Oh, no, you're not being rude! Not at all!" Kiri smirked and nudged Arrow in the ribs. "We don't mind a bit! Do we, Arrow?"

Arrow scowled and hissed in annoyance towards her companion as she attempted to pull free once again but to no avail.

Having finished pouting at his lieutenant, Shunsui's full attention was once again directed towards the black haired girl standing in front of him.

"One of the seers you say?" Leaning forward, the captain brought himself eye level to Arrow and peered closely at the girl's face. "You know, you look an awful lot like Nanao-chan." Upon hearing this comment Nanao poked her head past her Captain's shoulder to try and see the girl.

Arrow's shoulders stiffened and she leant away from the man who was clearly bursting her personal bubble. Fidgeting, she quickly shot back, "Whatever are you talking about?" She waved her hands frantically. "I look nothing like-"

Jumping up, Kiri quickly cut her friend off. "HAH!" She looked pointedly at Arrow. "Told you!" Directing her attention back towards the Squad 8 Captain and lieutenant she smiled pleasantly and offered her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Shunsui! And you too Nanao."

Smiling pleasantly, Shunsui took Kiri's hand in his own and shook it, but his eyes never left Arrow. Swallowing nervously, the girl attempted to make herself as small as possible while Kiri shook Nanao's hand and exchanged subtle introductions.

During their exchanged the Captain watched the black haired girl carefully. She did look an awful lot like Nanao, but she was much taller and her eyes were green. Peering closer, something in Shunsui's mind finally clicked. "Your expression . . . have I seen you somewhere before?"

Arrow almost squeaked as she backed up even further against the trash can, hoping valiantly that the universe would open up a hole and swallow her. "Uh . . . no . . ." She looked around her nervously, "I don't believe so . . ."

Kiri stifled her giggles as she watched the exchange. Nanao sent questioning looks towards the blonde.

Another awkward silence fell over the group as Shunsui continually watched the girl carefully. Suddenly his eyes lit up.

"It was YOU!" he exclaimed with delight.

At this Arrow visibly flinched and looked away. _Well shit,_ she thought sourly, _guess the moron isn't as dense as I thought.  
><em>  
>Nanao pushed her glasses up her nose, "Sir, what on earth are you babbling about to this poor girl?"<p>

"Nanao-chan, this is the imposter who was posing as you," his voice was coated in pure mirth as he happily explained the identity of the young woman to his unknowing lieutenant.

Trying to reverse the situation, Arrow quickly piped up, "No I wasn-"

Slapping her hand over her friends mouth Kiri destroyed her friends attempt at salvaging the situation and happily exclaimed, "She makes a good Nanao huh?" Glaring down at her friend's hand over her mouth, Arrow contemplated biting her. A second after she had decided to do it, however, Kiri removed her hand. Arrow glared at her. Shunsui, however, missed this silent exchange.

"Indeed! She had me fooled there for a bit but she seemed a bit off, now that I think about it," he said cheerfully, not seeming to mind at all that he had been fooled by a ryoka. By this time Arrow had hidden her face behind her hair and was muttering profanities in an attempt to make herself feel better.

Ever practical, Nanao had a different question. "What I would like to know is how you copied my reiatsu. Are you two truly that powerful?"

Kiri took full advantage of the situation and began to chirp, "Why of cour-" but was cut off, this time by Arrow's hand over her mouth. She made a small disappointed noise.

"No, not quite," Arrow said, removing her hand from Kiri's mouth. The captain and lieutenant watching looked very confused by this time, aside from smirking slightly over the girls' familiarity.

Kiri glared up at her friend. "Fine, you explain it."

Sighing, Arrow said, "Long story short, we had a device that can disguise you as someone perfectly, down to the reiatsu."

"Where is this device now?" asked Nanao, sounding slightly concerned.

Arrow fidgeted, not wanting to reveal Yoruichi's secret training ground. "Uhh . . . we have it. Why?"

"Such a device would be rather a security hazard, I would think. It is best that we turn it in so no one else could use it in the way you have."

The two friends shared a look. Knowing Soul Society, if they turned it in the device would probably end up stolen and being used for some nefarious purpose. The shinigami weren't exactly known for being the best guardians of ridiculously overpowered objects. Arrow made a split-second decision and piped up, perfectly straight-faced, "That's classified seer information, and to allow anyone else to take possession of such a powerful device would result in a very angered dungeon master."

Nanao and Shunsui looked very confused while Kiri simply facepalmed. "Dungeon master? Seriously?" she whispered to her friend.

Arrow glared at her and whispered back, "You have a better idea?"

Shunsui smirked as he watched the obvious exchange between the girls realizing they wanted to keep their device for whatever reason and decided to go along with it.

"Dungeon Masters you say?" Shunsui questioned sounding extremely interested, "If that is the case then I assume it is best left in your company."

Arrow and Kiri sighed in utter relief.

Nanao looked curiously at her Captain before thinking better of asking and instead decided to drop the subject and address another issue. "In any case," she explained as she stepped forward and slid her glasses up her nose, "It's very good we ran into each other. Apparently the soutaicho has a message for you."

Arrow's eyes widened, what in the name of all things old and wrinkly did that old man want with them now? Hadn't he just seen them that morning? She thought over the possibilities and suddenly muttered "Aw damn," She looked at Shunsui with wide eyes "Tell that old bastard I didn't tell anyone, I swear!" Kiri sweat dropped at her friend.

Shunsui, having failed to notice the look sent to him by the dark haired girl instead continued on with "Ah yes! Yama-jii has assigned you both training masters!" He looked more than pleased with the notion.

"Oh god," Arrow swallowed hard, this was much worse than that old ass thinking she went on and spouted off about his dark little secret, "This is much worse than I thought." The look on her face was one of pure agony.

Shunsui was still ignoring her. "Yama-jii explained that you girls are already pretty talented when it comes to hand to hand," He once again looked towards the green eyed girl looking almost amused, "considering that you took out the lieutenant of squad nine."

Upon hearing this Arrow looked up and smirked in delight. She was quite pleased to know that that cocky ass had had his defeat spread throughout the Sereitei already._ That'll show him . . ._

Shunsui interrupted Arrow's inner musings, "I've also been informed you're a dual wielder," the eighth squad's Captain's eyes trailed down towards Arrow's waist where her swords were secured, "Aren't you?"

Arrow knew he already knew the answer to that question but answered anyway, nodding, "I am."  
>Shunsui laughed. "Well as you probably already know Jyuushiro and I are the only known dual wielders in the Gotei Thirteen and you're obviously not substitute shinigami-" He paused briefly as if waiting for a response.<p>

Arrow only smirked and knew he was prying for information, so instead of answering she innocently prompted him to finish, "Well, go on."

Shunsui's eye lit up in bemusement at the girl catching at his game, "Well due to that circumstance you were assigned to train with both myself and Jyuushiro who is the-"

"The Captain of Squad Thirteen, has white hair, is consistently sick , and whose former lieutenant was Kaien Shiba." Kiri looked damn proud of herself until she saw the incredulous look that seemed to question her intelligence coming from Arrow. She immediately realized her mistake.

"I did it again didn't I?" She flushed across her cheeks before sheepishly scratching her head, "Oops."

Both the lieutenant and captain looked astounded that Kiri knew such information, the realization that the girls might actually being seers settling in.

Coughing slightly Shunsui continued, "As for you," he paused briefly as if searching for something, "Kiri, right?"

The blonde nodded, "Yes."

"No one seems to have any idea of what your abilities are," the Captain looked curiously towards the zanpakutou clasped around the blonde's waist, "So you haven't been assigned a trainer yet. Since you seem to know about all of us, do you know who would be most helpful to you?"

"Well," Kiri began sounding slightly sheepish, "seeing as the person whose powers are most similar to mine just betrayed the Soul Society and vanished . . ."

Shunsui's eyes widened exponentially.

"I do seem to be good at kido though . . . and my swordsmanship could probably use some work." The blonde added as afterthought.

Arrow snorted. "Understatement of the century right there."

Kiri glared in response, "That's rich coming from you, Miss Shunpoed-into-a-Wall."

The taller girl rolled her eyes as she flushed red. "One time," she grumbled, "ONE TIME!"

Sparks flew between the girls as they glared at one another.

Attempting to defuse the situation Nanao coughed into her hand and addressed the blonde, "What are your powers exactly Kiri?"

"Oh! Well," The blonde immediately stopped glaring immediately as though nothing had happened and happily explained, "I'm an illusion type user."

Nanao sent a skeptical look towards her Captain who's assumptions were quickly being confirmed.

"How interesting," The Captain mused, "Kido you say?"

"Yep," Kiri smiled earnestly but sweatdropped in light of the memory of the pathetic ball of kido she had thrown at Aizen, "Though I could use a bit of improvement."

"Well the 5th is out of commission. . ." Nanao mused, thinking over the catastrophe that had struck the squad in only a matter of days.

"She could always train with the third" Shunsui supplied, "Lieutenant Kira is a prime Kido user."

Nanao nodded in agreement, "Sir, would you like me to report these findings to the soutaicho?"

"Go on ahead Nanao-chan." Shunsui smiled as his lieutenant bowed to him before shunpoing off. Turning towards the girls he inquired, "Have you been shown around the Sereitei yet?"

"OOH!" Kiri's eyes lit up like a child's on Christmas morning, her inner rabid fangirl going crazy. "No, not yet!"

The Captain laughed heartily, "Well then, allow me to show you ladies around the Sereitei so you can familiarize yourself with it." Kiri bounced up and down on her toes happily letting out little yelps of excitement.

Arrow felt a solid line of sweat trail down her face as she watched her friend. Feeling a slight pressure in her head Arrow couldn't help but flinch, _Oh fantastic, a migraine_. Shaking her head, she smiled towards the captain in appreciation, "I appreciate the thought but I think I'm just gonna go back to the apartment. . ."

Kiri's arm locked around the taller girl's, "Nuh uh! You're coming with me!"

Arrow's head throbbed painfully once again, "Why don't you just go on ahead-"

Arrow was immediately cut off though as Kiri chirped loudly, "Lead the way Shunsui!" and promptly began to drag the dark-haired girl out of the cafeteria, determined to get the tour of her life.

"With pleasure!" Turning on his heel the pink-wearing captain began walking across the cafeteria the girls falling into step behind him.

Arrow could do nothing but sigh as she followed the pair out into the bright sun.

* * *

><p>"So, seers huh?" Shunsui inquired as they strolled down the corridors of the Sereitei making various turns in what seemed an endless void of walls.<p>

"Yup!" Kiri chirped as she looked around her in wonder. The place was actually quite beautiful to look at when you weren't running for your lives trying to save someone.

Arrow brought up the rear of the group, her head pounding painfully as she tried to tune out the background noise and only focus on stopping the horrid pain in her skull. She wasn't surprised she had a migraine after the events of the last few days, and she had had them so many times in the past it was laughable, but it didn't stop their annoyance factor or the pain one at that.

Rubbing her eyes, Arrow sighed painfully.

"So where do you girls come from?" Shunsui questioned having stopped to allow Kiri to look at a particularly pretty garden.

The blonde looked up and laughed sheepishly, "Heh, well about that."

Arrow sighed through her nose as she watched the roses in the garden dance playfully back and forth in the wind.

_A petite girl with auburn-brown hair raced down the isle of the store a flowery sundress waving in her hands, a delightful smile on her face. Turning a corner sharply she ran up towards the blonde who was browsing racks and the black haired girl who was sprawled across the couch by the dressing room flipping through a worn-out copy of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew"_

_"Ari!" The girl chirped happily as she thrust the dress forward, "try this on!"_

_Arrow's eyes widened as she dropped her book in her lap and scooted away from the dress rapidly, "I refuse to wear that!"_

_The brown headed girl pouted as she held the fabric out pathetically towards the taller girl, "Please Ari? Oh please! I look terrible in flower print, but I bet you'll look lovely!" The girl looked around and caught sight of the blonde, "Huh Kiri?"_

_"Do it!" The blonde snickered as she walked over towards the pair and poked the black haired girl in the side, "You'll look PRETTTY!"_

_Arrow hissed in embarrassment and pulled her black leather jacket closer around her._

Arrow blinked her eyes once, then twice before shaking her head freeing herself from the memory. She hissed suddenly with the movement though as the pain in her head was amplified. Looking up, the black-haired girl caught sight of her companions standing nearby chatting idly.

"Soo let me get this straight," The Captain said looking thoroughly confused, "You're from another planet?"

Kiri nodded enthusiastically, "Uh huh!"

"Named Asgard?"

The blonde nodded once again.

"And you're here because a mysterious satellite threw your ship into a different quadrant of the galaxy."

"Leaving all our friends behind, yes."

"And you're trying to save the world from the dark lord Sephiroth who wants the power of this "One Ring" to cover the lands in a second darkness."

"Basically." The blonde confirmed firmly, placing her fist in her hand," OH! You forgot the part about us needing to get our bodies back to normal after an alchemy reaction went wrong though."

To say the captain looked skeptical was beyond an understatement, "Right."

Arrow sent an incredulous look towards her friend. Facepalming, she couldn't help but moan in defeat; this was why Kiri wasn't permitted to speak, ever. Sighing and rubbing her forehead Arrow was disappointed to note that her head was only pounding worse and the world was beginning to blur around her.

However, her misery was interrupted when a familiar voice piped up.

"Look what we have here Yumichika." Ikkaku pointed out pleasantly, his sword balanced across his shoulder and a smirk on his face.

"Well, well," Yumichika cooed, "If it isn't that gutsy Ryoka girl."

Looking up, Arrow squinted her eyes towards the pair, "Oh you two."

"That was a ballsy move, stepping up to fight with us," Ikkaku explained, "Especially when going up against other captains and lieutenants."

Arrow wasn't paying much attention to the words leaving the bald man's mouth but rather the glare that was reflecting painfully off his head into her retinas. Squinting she turned her head the other way and held up her hand, "Can you cover your head? You're blinding me."

At this Ikkaku grit his teeth and fumed, "Are you calling me bald again?" Yumichika quickly silenced his partner by shoving a sock in his mouth, the sock coming from only God knows where.

"As we were explaining," The feathered shinigami continued, "Our captain would like to battle you."

At once Arrow turned green in the face, the image of Zaraki's ridiculous zanpakutou staying prominent in her mind. Yumichika looked at her expectantly. _Shit_, Arrow thought in panic, _Excuse, excuse need a valid excuse._

"I have an appointment," Arrow said, soundly instantly apologetic as she backed away from the fifth seat towards her two companions who were watching the scene curiously, "Tell him we'll have to reschedule!" Having reach her destination the girl quickly grabbed Kiri's and Shunsui's arms before running and dragging the two behind.

The two members of squad eleven watched as the group quickly disappeared as dots on the horizon.

Ikkaku grunted, "Weird-ass chick."

Yumichika flipped his hair, "Definitely." And with that both companions turned and walked the opposite direction.

*several hundred feet and two corners later*

Arrow skidded to a stop as she released her hold on her friend and the captain and placed her hand against her forehead, "That was WAY too close for comfort."

Kiri burst into laughter as she fell against a wall and guffawed at her friend.

Shunsui just looked confused. "You guys know one another?"

Arrow deadpanned, "We've met."

"MAN Arrow," The blonde prodded as she giggled, "I'm not sure I've ever seen you run from a fight, nor that fast before!"

"Kiri," Arrow sent her friend a pleading look, "shut up." With that she rubbed her temples and groaned when she realized just bad her head was hurting; she was certain it was about to implode upon itself. Covering her eyes, she groaned and leaned forward trying to block out the rays of sunlight.

Kiri, ever the oblivious one, slapped her friend on the shoulder and turned back towards the eighth division captain, "If you'll lead the way Shunsui!"

Shunsui however looked vaguely concerned with the black-haired girl's behavior, "You alright Arrow-san?"

"Yea," Arrow mustered a fake smile and nodded her head, "I'm fine, let's go."

* * *

><p>"And this is the combined training field for the seated officers, the lieutenants and the captains. "<p>

"WHOA!" Kiri yelled in delight as she took in the massive size of the area looking thoroughly impressed.

"Wow," Arrow shaded her eyes and let out a low whistle, "That's actually pretty awesome."

The training ground was huge, spanning almost three football fields long and wide. It was comprised of a massive area of empty space for sparring, an obstacle course that looked extremely difficult, and various targets. Several seated officers were out on the grounds shooting kido at targets and sparring.

The moment however was crushed when Arrow caught sight of a 69 tattoo and blonde emo hair, "Oh look," she drew dryly, "there's the ambiguously gay duo we've been trying to avoid."

Kiri, upon seeing the two, smiled and threw her hand up in the air waving and shouting. Before Arrow could stop her she was sprinting towards them.

"Wait-!" Arrow barked, "Don't-" She sighed. "Damn it."

Skidding up to the pair Kiri smiled and waved happily. "Hey guys!"

Izuru couldn't help but smile slightly at the cheerful girl before him, "Kiri-san," he lowered his blade, "What are you doing here?"

"Getting a tour," Kiri turned towards Hisagi, "Heya Shuuhei!"

"Kiri-san," The lieutenant lowered his blade as well, nodding in acknowledgement, "It's nice to see-" he stopped midsentence when he caught sight of a certain irritated-looking girl walking slowly towards the group. He scowled. "What is she doing here?"

"Touring too?" Kiri supplied, grinning, "Listen, you should learn that pretty much, where one of us is, the other is too. It's like a law of physics or something."

Shuuhei's face fell. "Great."

Arrow walked up slowly, looking oddly pale as she raised a hand and waved at Izuru and Kiri. Shuuhei's glare was most prominent as he watched the girl approach him.

"Well," Noticing the glare Arrow smiled pleasantly, "If it isn't Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows himself."

Almost hissing at her, Shuuhei shot back, "Don't you have something better to be doing, Wolfe-san?"

"Better than watching you wave your sword around like a toddler?" Arrow shoved back the pain of her headache. "Absolutely not."

Kiri watched as the exchange escalated, one eyebrow cocked. She rolled her eyes and grabbed Izuru's arm, pulling him after her as she walked away. "Let's move before they slaughter one another."

"Uh . . . okay . . ." He followed after her until they were standing about thirty feet away as sparks flew between the other pair and Shunsui attempted to make peace, rather unsuccessfully. Kiri watched them for a moment before turning to Izuru.

"So . . . we're getting assigned training partners."

"I heard." said Izuru, wondering where the girl was going with this.

The girl fidgeted a little, still watching the two arguing. "Well, there isn't really anyone other than Aizen who has powers like mine, so I can't choose a training partner based on that."

Izuru turned abruptly toward her, looking slightly alarmed. "Kiri-san . . . what exactly are your powers?"

Kiri gave him a half-smile. "Don't worry, I'm not going to go dark side on you," she assured him, patting his arm a couple times. "I just use illusions, that's all. The reason I was asking is, well, I seem to be good at kido and I'd like to learn more about it. I know you're really good at kido so . . . I was wondering if you could help me?"

The emo lieutenant relaxed slightly, blinking at her in surprise. "You sure?"

"Of course! I wouldn't be asking otherwise."

"Well . . . okay then." Izuru replied, blushing slightly. "I'll see you here tomorrow?"

"Sure, but don't expect me too early." Kiri laughed. "I'm not really a morning person."

Arrow groaned as her head throbbed profusely, the pain exacerbated by the fact that Shuuhei was still attempting to banter with her. "Why are you so damn loud?" she grumbled at him, not really in the mood for arguing.

Ignoring this comment, the lieutenant continued on his previous strain, "I don't understand why they let ryoka into the Seireitei in the first place-"

_Why is his voice getting softer?_ Arrow wondered. _And things are starting to look really odd . . ._"Shut up already, you mor-" She stumbled slightly, cutting off her sentence.

"Hey!" Shuuhei stopped mid-sentence, noticing something was wrong.

_Goddamn migraines . . . _Arrow thought as everything went black and she fell forward.

* * *

><p>The punk lieutenant stepped forward suddenly out of reflex and caught the black haired girl gently as she toppled. "Hey!" he shouted at her, though a little more softly than before. "You ok?" He tapped her lightly on the face in an attempt to wake her.<p>

"What happened?" Kiri dashed up, Shuuhei's partner in crime close behind her.

"I don't know! She just collapsed all of a sudden!"

Kiri checked Arrow carefully and was relieved to see she still had color and was breathing. "You broke the seer," she told the lieutenant sarcastically. "Great job, dumbass!" She snorted and was met with a glare.

Deciding to take it a step further, she glanced at Shuuhei slyly. "Nice job catching her by the way. I guess you do like her a bit, after all!"

A look of horror came over the man's face as he suddenly realized what he had done. "AUGH!" He promptly dropped Arrow, unconcerned with her plight as she once again plunged toward the ground. Shunsui, Izuru, and Kiri yelped as one and stepped forward in alarm, the captain catching her limp body at the last second and lifting her into his arms.

"What's wrong with you?" he reprimanded Shuuhei. "That's no way to treat a young lady!" The younger man blushed angrily and turned away.

"Should we take her to the fourth?" Izuru asked with concern, peering at Arrow's face.

Kiri shook her head and smiled wryly. "Only if you want to get stabbed when she wakes up, she hates hospitals." She snorted. "Dumbass didn't eat lunch and has never done well in the heat, not to mention we're still recovering from our injuries. Let her sleep it off and she'll be fine."

"Are you certain?" asked the pink-garbed captain.

"Positive." The girl shot a pointed look at Shuuhei before setting off down the field. "Just take her back to the apartment. I'll keep an eye on her at least." The captain followed her as she started back, still carrying Arrow.

Left behind, Izuru turned to his long-time friend and whispered, "Hisagi-san, I can't believe you DROPPED her!"

Looking slightly abashed, Shuuhei whispered back, "I'm sorry, okay?"

* * *

><p><em>The door to the room creaked open splaying light everywhere as a fourteen year old Kiri walked through the doorway carrying a box and dressed in blue pajamas.<em>

_"So," the blonde started, shaking the box experimentally, "this was all I could find in the cupboard." She looked at the box in disdain._

_A petite auburn haired girl dressed in pink kitty pajamas reach up and plucked the box from Kiri's hand, reading the front. "Sugar free, gluten free, brown rice rice krispies," she sweatdropped, "Your dad really doesn't understand the meaning of "snacks" does he?"_

_"Well," Kiri started as she rubbed the back of her head, " it was either that or lean ground turkey and spinach so..." All three girls occupying the room suddenly turned green in the face._

_"No worries Lizzie," a young looking Arrow garbed in a black t-shirt and guitar hero sleep pants assured as she picked up the box and tossed it to the side of the room, "I've got it covered." Pulling her backpack up into her lap Arrow withdrew several packages of ramen and cans of dr. pepper._

_Kiri squealed in delight. "YOU. ARE. MY. HERO!" Jumping Kiri tackled Arrow to the ground, promptly glomping her._

_"Oof!" Arrow gasped when Kiri's body mass collided with her knocking her over. Pushing against the blonde she whispered mildly annoyed, "Dumbass, we're gonna wake up your parents!"_

_Kiri laughed in response and continued to cling to the taller girl who squawked in protest and shoved against her assailant._

_"Shh you two!" Lizzie giggled and shook her head brown eyes sparkling in amusement. Kicking Kiri off Arrow grumbled and threw herself down onto her sleeping bag. The blonde, now sprawled across the room cackled evilly before grabbing the ramen and running for the kitchen._

_"What a dipshit." Arrow grumbled as she huffed, pushing her loose hair behind her ears. Lizzie could only laugh her friend._

_"Oh you know you love her Ari," The smaller girl supplied smiling pleasantly as she sprawled out across her sleeping bag, "We're all best friends after all."_

_Arrow snorted, "How did I end up with you freaks again?"_

_"That's funny coming from you," Kiri said having obviously returned from cooking the cups of ramen. Arrow only grunted in response when Kiri passed the cups of ramen out accordingly._

_After several moments of munching in silence and venturing to taste the odd rice krispies Arrow couldn't help but notice._

_"You know," she started picking at the cereal, "These are really gross, but. . ."_

_"Sort of addictive?" Kiri finished for her._

_"Yeah. . ."The girls all nodded in unison. A comfortable silence fell over the group once again_

_"Sooo," Lizzie jumped up suddenly, looking oddly scandalous, "We should talk about boys."_

_Arrow choked on her ramen._

_Kiri swallowed hard, "Oh god."_

_Having recovered from her choking session Arrow managed to spit out, "HELL NO!" With that she promptly scooted away from her companion looking extremely wary._

_In turn Lizzie pouted and pulled her pillow up against her squeezing it, "OH COME ON!"_

_"UH no," Kiri looked at the girl like she had grown a second head, "I'd rather go back to anime. . ."_

_"Sorry," Having finished her ramen Arrow put the cup down on the floor before looking pointedly at the brown eyed girl, "I'm allergic."_

_Lizzie snorted in disdain, "Yea right Ari, you can't be allergic to boys!" Biting her lip Lizzie looked to be in deep thought before she snapped her fingers and idea dawning on her, "Let's play would you rather anime style!"_

_Kiri looked up with her mouth full of rice krispies, swallowing she replied, "fine."_

_Arrow deadpanned, "No." Then with that she picked up her book and began promptly flipping through pages._

_Lizzie however was not so easily deterred, putting on her best puppy look she addressed her dark haired friend, "Please?"_

_Arrow didn't even glance up, "Negatory."_

_"Please," The auburn haired girl continued further, going so far as to scoot up to her friend and getting nose to nose with her, "bestest buddy ever-"_

_"NO!" Glaring Arrow pushed the girl off her sleeping bag before crossing her arms. _

_Lizzie quickly rebounded up on her knees as she reach out towards her friend pleading, "Ple-"_

_"Oh good lord, fine!" Arrow snorted in disdain as she flopped back down on her pillow, "Now will you quit being annoying?" She paused for a moment. "You know what you guys go on head, I'll just watch." _

_"fiiiiine," Kiri whined pouting at her friend who had her nose buried back in a book, "I'll go first. Alright Lizzie Renji or Ichigo?"_

_The pink garbed girl rolled her eyes dramatically, "Ichigo duh. Grimmjow or Ulquiorra?"_

_Kiri looked far from impressed, "You know that one. Ulquiorra."_

_Arrow's eyebrow twitched as she flipped through another page in her book, "Just so you guys know you're both dumbasses fantasying over guys and anime ones at that."_

_Lizzie glared at her friend as she crossed her arms, "Oh come on Ari! We're in high school now, practically adults!" Lizzie missed the incredulous look Arrow sent her, fourteen was far from being an adult, "there has to be someone you like!" _

_"Oh yeah," Arrow carefully raised an eyebrow as she sarcastically commented, "I'm TOTALLY boy-crazy. You know me, massive otaku fangirl right here." _

_Lizzie grumbled in frustration, "Can we atleast play the guessing game til we figure it out?" Arrow didn't respond and Lizzie sunk into her covers looking defeated._

_"You know," Kiri glanced towards her friend, looking her up and down, "I bet she secretly has a thing for the punk type. You know the cocky, leather wearing bastard who would drive her crazy but is really really hot anyway."_

_"Oh!" Lizzie said, slamming her hand into her palm, "Like the lietenant of squad 9, whats his name? Hisagi! That's right!"_

_Both girls looked half expectantly at Arrow._

_The dark haired girls eyes widened before she suddenly flushed red and put her book over her face in embarrassment. "You two are stupid. I'm going to sleep." With that the girl promptly slid down itno her sleeping back grumbling. _

_Lizzie's eyes suddenly lit up in excitement "Oh Kiriiiiiii."_

_Kiri was smiling widely as she got up on her knees next to Lizzie, "Oh yes Lizzzzieeeeee."_

_Lizzie scooted closer to Arrow an evil smile on her face as she poked her friend in the side, "I think Ari-chan has a thing for a certain punk Lieutenant neh?"_

_Kiri also scooted up towards Arrow's prone figure, "I think you're right Lizzie-"_

_"SHUT UP!" Arrow suddenly shot up out of her sleeping bag, her black curls frizzed up around her head and her face red as a tomato."Both of you!"_

_"HAH!" Kiri fell back laughing in delight, all concepts of being quiet forgotten, "I knew it!"_

_Lizzie's lips curled up in a smirk as she watched her friend try to hold a straight face, "So that's why you wanted to be a part of squad nine, I see now."_

_"GAH!" Arrow was through with being embarressed and sent venomus looks towards both of her friends"Go to sleep both of you!" Grabbing a pillow she promptly smacked Kiri in the face._

_"OH Ari," Kiri was unpertrubered, "Now I finally have something to tease you about! Miss anti-boys."_

_Arrow could only curl up in her sleeping bag with her face hid in the covers annd facing the wall, "I hate you all."_

_Jumping up from her position Lizzie tackled both girls and went rolling across the room knocking over the forgetten box of cereal. Kiri yelped in pain as she shoved against her friend._

_"Get off!" Arrow roared, still embarressed and frustrated from her friends earlier teasings._

_Lizzie however , ignoring them both, continued to lay happily on both of her friends and began to spout of in a way that only a typical early teenage girl could. "Well I love both of you!" She wrapped her arms around the masses below her, "My bestest friends forever!"_

_The girls beneath her deadpanned._

_Arrow rolled her eyes, "yeah, yeah."_

_"Ugh," Kiri groaned, not even bothering to move from the dog pile, "I'm going to sleep."_

_Silence fell over the group for a time._

_Lizzie, however, pipped up quietly after several moments, "I'm serious you two, we'll always be together."_

_"same here," Kiri smiled from her squished position,"Us freaks have to stick together you know! Huh Ari-chan?"_

_Arrow remained quiet._

_Kiri poked her, "Arrriiiii."_

_Arrow reach from under the group and grabbed a pillow before smacking both of her companions with it, freeing her from her squished position. "Go to sleep you two."_

_Both girls murmured in agreement as they laid down around Arrow, quickly falling back into silence. After several minutes when both girls had fallen into a deep sleep Arrow rolled over on her side and sighed._

_"Together forever," She mused smiling as she noted Kiri's arm thrown across her face and Lizzie's leg up in her personal bubble, "That's a promise I intend to keep."_

* * *

><p>Arrow's eyes opened suddenly as she bolted up into a sitting position and looked around her in panic. Where the hell was she? Sitting there in panic for a few moments everything fell back into place and she soon felt her tension ridden shoulders loosen up.<p>

Letting her arms fall to the bed, Arrow immediately knew she was back in her apartment and from the rays of moonlight shining in through the curtain that it was night time. Looking towards the doorway that connected her and Kiri's apartment she noted light snoring. _Kiri,_she thought in relief, knowing that the blonde was sleeping soundly next door.

Groaning Arrow grabbed her head and threw herself back on her bed. How had she ended up back here? Blinking her eyes for a time she could vaguely remember her head hurting and arguing with Shuuhei- then it hit her. She closed her eyes in frustration and embarrassment as she slammed her fist into the mattress.

"Son of a bitch!" She hissed in annoyance as her hands came up to cup her face, "how could I have let myself pass out and look weak in front of that-THAT Oh whatever he is!" She rolled over on her side and whimpered in disbelief. After several moments of sulking in her own embarrassment Arrow felt her mind trail away from the memories of the day back to the memory she had revisited in her sleep. Suddenly she felt very cold, shuddering she reach for a blanket and pulled it around herself, it wouldn't do any good she knew, nothing ever got rid of that feeling- she shook her head.

_Don't dally on the past_, she scorned herself as she sank deeper into the blankets, _what's done is done. _Sighing she pushed her face into the cool surface of the pillow, duly noting the ache in her head had diminished.

_Go to sleep_, she reassured herself_, it'll be alright._

However, she knew sleep wouldn't come, and deep down she knew it was never going to be alright.

* * *

><p><em>Ran-chan . . .<em>

Leaning against the wall, Gin closed his eyes and tried to picture her as she always was: happy, bubbly, slightly drunk but upbeat all the same. His usual smirk faded. All he could seem to come up with was her expression the last time he had seen her, her ice-blue eyes shocked, disappointed, and hurt beyond belief. _Ran-chan, I meant it when I said I was sorry. _He took down a teacup from the cupboard. _But this is all for ya, ya know._ He shook his head to clear it and turned back to his drink.

The ex-captain tapped the spoon thoughtfully on the side of the teacup, shaking off the last of the leaves. In reality he had no wish for tea at all and had long preferred coffee anyway, but the ruse of getting a cup of the liquid was a good excuse to eavesdrop on his supposed leader's conversation with Tousen. Aizen-taicho was planning something, something which Gin had not been privy to, which made him instantly suspicious. His one constant fear was that his planned double-cross would be discovered before he had a chance to kill his superior, which meant that listening in on all "private" conversations was a necessity.

"Kaname." Ah, here was the reason he was standing in this horrid, whitewashed kitchen off the meeting room, making the disgusting drink that seemed to be the only thing available in this entire palace. Aizen was planning something. _Of course, _he thought to himself, _he's always plannin' somethin'. Tha's why I'm here._

"Yes, Aizen-sama?"

"I need her, Kaname."

"The ryoka girl? The arrangements have already been made for her."

"Good. Then she will be brought here in time. Not for the reasons _they_think, of course." Gin took "they" to mean Kurosaki and his friends.

"As I said, everything is in place."

"Her presence here is very important Kaname. _She_is important. Both of them are."

The silver-haired ex-captain nearly dropped his teacup. _"Both of them"? _He knew Aizen was planning to take Inoue Orihime as part of a great diversion. But who on earth was the second one?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Author's Note: To anyone who can name all of the references made in this chapter you get a cyber-cookie and if I have enough time in the next few weeks a one shot commission. Anyway R&amp;R ^^<strong>_


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